The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Reid Parham Eating disorder facts [Click to enlarge]

Almost 8 million Americans suffer from an eating disorder like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. OSU is helping spread awareness of this mental illness by observing National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, with only one in 10 people receiving treatment for the disease.

The first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week was observed in 1987 after Mary Pabst - from the Maryland Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia - sent a letter to organizations around the country about the epidemic numbers of eating disorder cases.

"We have this perception in our society that to be healthy, you have to be thin," said Elise Abramson, member of the Female Majority Leadership Alliance. "That's the wrong perception to have."

The Women's Center and various students from women's studies classes have been involved in planning the week's activities.

"This week is all about mental health awareness, accepting your body, not treating it as an enemy," Abramson said.

"We are trying to promote awareness not only about the disease, but also about the resources available on campus for people who suffer from the disease," said Christina Blanchard, a Women's Center coordinator and a sophomore majoring in English.

The week will kick off today with smashing scales in the MU Quad. Blanchard is also organizing a meeting at the Women's Center on Thursday with a speaker from Counseling and Psychological Services and a chance for students to make body positive magnets.

"We want people to know that it's [eating disorders] out there," Abramson said. "People have this perception that it's this teenage girl disease, but that's just not true."

According to the National Eating Disorders Association 91 percent of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, 22 percent of whom dieted "often" or "always." Also, 25 percent of men in the U.S. and 45 percent of women are on a diet on any given day.

"Once you have an eating disorder, you struggle with it for the rest of your life," Abramson said.

OSU offers services for students who are suffering from eating disorders. CAPS provides group therapy, or one-on-one sessions for students who seek help dealing with an eating disorder. Student Health Services also offers a nutritionist who can help students develop healthy eating habits.

For more information about the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.

Aleks Cherednichenko, news editor

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231

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