Eating disorders to be highlighted in event
Eating Disorder Statistics
• More than 5 million Americans suffer from eating disorders
• 3 percent of adolescent and adult women and 1 percent of men have anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or engage in binge eating
• 15 percent of young women have extensively skewed eating attitudes and behaviors
• A woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die in comparison to other women her age
• 40 percent of fourth graders say they diet “sometimes” to “very often”
• Anorexia nervosa usually appears in mid-adolescence
• Bulimia nervosa affect 1 – 4 percent of college age women
• 10 – 15 percent of diagnosed cases of bulimia nervosa are men
• In the United States, conservative estimates suggest that 5 – 10 million women and 1 million men have eating disorders
• Of those diagnosed with eating disorders, half recover, 30 percent have partial recovery and 20 percent have no improvement
Source: www.sadd.org (Student Against Destructive Decisions) |
By Natalie Garcia
The Collegian
Fresno State student Gabriela Rodriquez is using her personal struggle with bulimia to help others.
She is participating in Tuesday night’s panel discussion “Dying To Be Thin” with fellow panelist Dr. Nancy Bleile, and clinical psychology doctorate student Julie Yang.
The discussion is a part of a series of activities to commemorate Women’s History Month.
Graduate student Matilde Gonzalez, 24, is the organizer of the event. She believes the media portrays an unattainable idea of beauty.
“What sells has a higher priority than on being healthy,” Gonzalez said. “The norm is some tall blonde with blue eyes that maybe weighs 109 pounds. That’s what is considered beautiful in America.”
Gonzalez would like to see more positive, realistic bodies on television and in magazines.
“I applaud Dove for just a couple of months ago stepping out and using full-figured women in their advertising,” she said.
Gonzalez is referring to the soap maker’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which uses women with a variety of body sizes and range of ethnicity as the face of their brand.
Dove is an exception to the rule of marketing toward women, who often find swizzle stick size models dominating the pages of their favorite women’s magazines.
To attain the pencil-thin figure of most models and actresses that saturate the landscape of mass media, some women find themselves going to drastic measures.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and that 80 percent of American women are dissatisfied with their appearance.
Although NEDA’s Web site says girls 14 to 19 are considered at the highest risk to develop eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction can start even sooner.
The site says 42 percent of first through third grade girls want to be thinner and 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat.
In a culture where body image concerns are widespread and appearance is often an indicator of status, Gonzalez hopes discussion will shed some light on the issues surrounding women and their bodies.
“I hope to accomplish three things,” Gonzalez said. “Help people who do not know if they have an eating disorder to get information, assist people suffering from an eating disorder find counseling and help and for family members and friends of women suffering from eating disorders to learn about it so they can be supportive.”
“Dying To Be Thin” is Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Family and Food Science 211. The first hour will be devoted to a panel discussion and last half hour will be open for questions. Parking is relaxed in Lot K near the North Gym.
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