Next week is National Eating Disorders Week, with the theme of "I Had No Idea" for 2015. Many people who are aware of eating disorders may not think they have one, but the campaign seeks to educate people on healthy methods of managing weight along with empowerment activities that help individuals embrace positive qualities in themselves as opposed to an unrealistic ideal. Murray State's Women's Center Director Abigail French discusses events at Murray State University for the awareness week, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Abigail French says various studies show the highest percentage of women who battle eating disorders is within the age range of 12-25. For the Women's Center, eating disorders is a large area of focus for prevention and education. It's the top half of the most prevalent age range, she says. There can be a variety of factors: newfound independence and engaging in behaviors parents may have caught, social pressures to look the other way, a greater focus on health and fitness, etc. 58% of college women and 36% of college men have engaged in some type of unhealthy method of managing their weight, she says, which can vary from not eating enough, eating too much of one thing, over exercising and diet fads.
On Tuesday, weather-depending, the Women's Center will host a 'Scale Bash.' It's an activity to raise awareness about eating disorders, but giving students the ability to identify thoughts and beliefs, put them on a scale, the hitting the scale with metal bats. Smashing the scale symbolizes smashing the unhealthy ideas about body image.
On Wednesday, they will show the documentary, Killing Us Softly 4: Advertising’s Image of Women by Jean Kilbourne. She's a researcher in marketing and media and how those things play into the issues of eating disorders and body image. French says marketing students are encouraged to attend and be educated on how their career field can be quite powerful in shaping the ideas of who we are and who we should be.
French adds that healthy body image and proper eating are common topics in typical work at the Women's Center. A lot of what they do is education and empowerment. It's important to identify when you're being to harsh or too idealistic, she says, and to embrace who you are and the things you like about yourself rather than comparing yourself to a standard.
More about National Eating Disorders Awareness Week
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