NEDA WEEK 2014

It's finally here...National Eating Disorder Week 2014!  It's something that is very important not only to me, but those who are currently suffering, and also those who are no longer here to share their story.  NEDA WEEK is all about raising awareness, education, raising money, and letting others understand how deadly eating disorders can be...but they don't have to be.  You can choose recovery and live a life full of happiness, joy, and laughter.  Today, I am reminded of those who I truly cared about and connected with that lost the battle to an eating disorder. It really breaks my heart how many lives the eating disorder takes each year which is why it is crucical to raise awareness about this deadly illness, but also remember that recovery is possible!  NEDA WEEK is something Ido, but it's something I feel that is my obligated to so, I can share my story and be a voice for eating disorder recovery.

We tend to think that we are invincible to the eating disorder and it will never happen to us...or will it?  We truly can't guarantee that we are invincible to this deadly disease which is why I am saying "fight with all your might".  You must never give up on your recovery because I don't want to see another "Rest In Peace" status on any social network anymore.  I want to see "I Survived and Made It"  The storm is dark and treacherous, but keep sailing along no matter what.  If you need support...be assertive an ask for support. You or I alone can not recover from an eating disorder alone.  It's takes support as a mentor, treatment team, friends, or even family.

The Statistics for Eating Disorders are quite alarming.

• 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner (Collins, 1991).
• In elementary school fewer than 25% of girls diet regularly. Yet those who do know what dieting involves and can talk about calorie restriction and food choices for weight loss fairly effectively (Smolak, 2011; Wertheim et al., 2009).
• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat (Mellin et al., 1991).
• 46% of 9-11 year-olds are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets, and 82% of their families are “sometimes” or “very often” on diets (Gustafson-Larson & Terry, 1992).
• Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005).
• 35-57% of adolescent girls engage in crash dieting, fasting, self-induced vomiting, diet pills, or laxatives. Overweight girls are more likely than normal weight girls to engage in such extreme dieting (Boutelle, Neumark-Sztainer, Story, &Resnick, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer&Hannan, 2001; Wertheim et al., 2009).
• Even among clearly non-overweight girls, over 1/3 report dieting (Wertheim et al., 2009).
• Girls who diet frequently are 12 times as likely to binge as girls who don’t diet (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005).
• The average American woman is 5’4” tall and weighs 165 pounds. The average Miss America winner is 5’7” and weighs 121 pounds (Martin, 2010).
• The average BMI of Miss America winners has decreased from around 22 in the 1920s to 16.9 in the 2000s. The World Health Organization classifies a normal BMI as falling between 18.5 and 24.9 (Martin, 2010).
• 95% of all dieters will regain their lost weight in 1-5 years (Grodstein, Levine, Spencer, Colditz, &Stampfer, 1996; Neumark-Sztainer, Haines, Wall, & Eisenberg, 2007).
• 35% of “normal dieters” progress to pathological dieting. Of those, 20-25% progress to partial or full-syndrome eating disorders (Shisslak, Crago, & Estes, 1995).
• Of American, elementary school girls who read magazines, 69% say that the pictures influence their concept of the ideal body shape. 47% say the pictures make them want to lose weight (Martin, 2010).

What you can do is seek out help.  Find a treatment team that will communicate with each other on your behalf such as a therapist that specializes in eating disorders, dietitian, physician, and psychiatrist.  All of these are a very crucial part of recovery.   I believe in you and your recovery.