NEDAwareness Week Day Seven: Parents

• Parents don’t cause eating disorders. They can be a major part of recovery. 
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Parents do not cause eating disorders. They are in a unique position to help identify eating disorders early, seek professional help, and support a child through the recovery process. It is also important to note that eating disorders are not a choice - they are not "just a phase" or an attention-seeking behavior. Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening illnesses that are best treated with a support system that includes the family. Parents also need to practice self-care when caring for a loved one. Recovery is possible, but it can be a trying experience for both the individual and their family members.

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Hope and Support:
Hope for Parents
Parent Toolkit

NEDAwareness Week Day Six: Medical Professionals

Eating Disorders are often overlooked/misdiagnosed by medical professionals. Learn the signs & share! 

Physicians and medical professionals can play an integral role in educating and assisting individuals who may be struggling with eating disorders or at risk for developing these illnesses. Due to a lack of education about the complexities of eating disorders and the range of behaviors and symptoms associated with them, physicians often overlook warning signs or misdiagnose eating disorders. These mistakes take a toll. More than 2/3 of youth with an eating disorder have not gotten treatment. Without education, physicians may miss an opportunity to stabilize a condition until appropriate treatment can be arranged.

For More Information Read Here:
What's Up Doc? - Stay in the know about the realities of eating disorders
Guide to Recognition/Management
Screening and Managing Eating Disorders - A guide for medical professionals

NEDAwareness Week Day Five: Dieting and Eating Disorders

35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% develop an eating disorder 

Americans get many mixed messages about health—and many of those messages are far from healthy. We hear about the virtues of "good" foods and the evils of the “bad” ones. Our national fixation on weight loss has resulted in $60 billion in profits for the diet industry – an industry whose products and weight loss plans are often the catalyst to an eating disorder. Research shows that 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting and of those, 20-25% continue on to develop partial or full-syndrome eating disorders (Shisslak, Crago, & Estes, 1995). From TV commercials to bestselling books, there are countless ideas about what we should be eating and how we should be exercising. But this focus on food and weight in the name of “health” can become a dangerous and disruptive preoccupation for some.

All too often, the drive for thinness begins early in a person’s life. For example, 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets (Gustafson-Larson & Terry, 1992) and 35-57% of adolescent girls engage in crash dieting, fasting, self-induced vomiting, diet pills or laxatives (Boutelle, Neumark-Sztainer, et al. 2002; Neumark-Sztainer & Hannan, 2001; Wertheim et al., 2009).

"Extreme dieting is never a healthy alternative. Among "normal" dieters, 35 percent will progress to pathological dieting and of those, 20-25 perfect progress to full-blown eating disorders. The Biggest Loser is not only a trigger to those on the show who are predisposed to develop an eating disorder but to viewers at home as well. We need to quit looking at the number on the scale and adopt a healthy lifestyle."

Read Here for More Information:

Orthorexia: Those who have an "unhealthy obsession" with otherwise healthy eating may be suffering from "orthorexia nervosa," a term which literally means "fixation on righteous eating."

-10 Ways to Recognize Orthorexia

Stories of Hope:

"My symptoms violently bounced between anorexia and bulimia and I became a master at hiding them. My eating disorder could not be perfectly boxed into a diagnostic code, which made it easy for my ED voice to always tell me, 'See, you're not that bad. You aren't underweight and you don't purge that much.'"
-Read More Here: A Scale Can't Measure the Severity of Your Eating Disorder

"They do not have a clue about men having an Eating Disorder; I guess that is why I am there to help them to better understand the disease."
-Read More Here: Reclaiming My Life

Get Involved:

Use the #NEDAwareness hashtag to join us for a Tweet Chat, A Slippery Slope: Identifying Disordered Behaviors Before they Go Too Far

NEDAwareness Week Day Four: Bullying and Eating Disorders

Bullying is a major contributor to eating disorders - 65% say that it factored into their struggle.

While eating disorders may first appear to be solely about food and weight preoccupations, those who who struggle with them are often using their disordered eating to cope with feelings and emotions that may otherwise seem overwhelming. Bullying can trigger feelings of shame, isolation and hopelessness. It can also be a trigger for eating disorders. As many as 65% of people with an eating disorder said that bullying contributed to their condition (b-EAT).

Bullying and weight-related discrimination are commonplace in a culture that glorifies thinness and ridicules people of larger sizes. Unfortunately, weight discrimination occurs more frequently than age or gender discrimination.

Stories for Inspiration:

"At school, I envied the boys that could walk through the locker room with their shirts off without having a reasons to be ashamed, without being pointed and laughed at. I thought being thin would bring happiness but the real problem was love. I lacked love. Love from my family who was occupied by trying to put the pieces together after this divorce and mostly, LOVE FOR MYSELF."

-Read More of Eric's Story Here: Stories of Hope: Broken Never Shattered

"My experience started in eighth grade, when the "popular girls" used to make me feel bad about myself and how I looked."

-Read More of Yaritza's Story Here: Bullying Triggered My Eating Disorder

Get Involved:             

                                                                                                                          10 "I WILL" Statements Towards Positive Body Image

Join Us for the BulliED Tweet Chat at 12:00 Central Time February 25th

BulliED: Bullying and Eating Disorders

NEDAwareness Week Day Three: Athletes and Eating Disorders

• Did you know athletes are at higher risk of developing an eating disorder? 
  Learn more: nedawareness.org #NEDAwareness 

Body image problems, disordered eating and full-blown eating disorders are common among athletes. Though most athletes with eating disorders are female, male athletes are also at risk—especially those competing in sports such as wrestling, bodybuilding, gymnastics, and running, which tend to place an emphasis on the athlete’s diet, appearance, size, and weight requirements.

In a study of Division 1 NCAA athletes, over one-third of female athletes reported attitudes and symptoms placing them at risk for anorexia nervosa (Johnson, Powers, et al, 1999). In weight-class and aesthetic sports about 33% of males and up to 62% of females are affected by an eating disorder (Thompson, PhD. 2010). The good news is that with information and awareness, coaches, parents and teammates can all play an important role in confronting eating disorders and ensuring that athletics are a positive experience for everyone.

For More Information Read Here:

Information for Coaches, Parents, Trainers, and Teammates

Athletes More Susceptible to Eating Disorders

Information for Coaches, Trainers, and Gyms:

Coach and Athletic Trainer ToolKit

10 Tips for Coaches

Information Card For Gyms, Trainers, and Coaches

Get Involved:

Eating Disorders in Athletes Tweet Chat Tuesday February 24th at 11:30 Central Time