This week, seven campus organizations are joining forces to raise awareness about eating disorders, which affect over one-half of teenage girls and one-third of
teenage boys in the United States. Events are planned throughout the week as part of the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week campaign, including a fashion show, a 5K run/walk and a blue jean drive. “The goal of the week is trifold,” said Student Health Center dietician Lori Greene. “Increase awareness and education about eating disorders, promote a positive body image, and inform students of the resources that are here on UA’s campus for someone that may be suffering from disordered eating.” The event kicked off Monday with a screening of Darryl Roberts’ documentary “America the Beautiful,” which explores culture’s obsession with physical beauty, and a panel discussion about how to help people develop positive body images. The next big event is a fashion show titled “Fashion Rocks, and so Does My Body.” The show will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Ferguson Center Ballroom. The first 50 people to arrive will receive a free T-shirt and Unscripted, the University’s peer education theatrical group, will give a performance on eating disorders. This is the first year for the fashion show, which Greene said strives to “highlight a diversity of women of all sizes.” Another event that is ongoing throughout the week is the Great Jeans Giveaway. This event, a drive to collect blue jeans for charity, has been a tradition of Eating Disorder Awareness Week for several years. There are bins at the Ferguson Center, Temple Tutwiler Hall, Mary Burke Hall, most sorority houses and the Recreation Center to collect old jeans that anyone would like to donate. In addition to the larger events, tables will be set up at the Ferg and the Rec Center every day this week to provide information on eating disorders and healthy eating, and displays around campus will compare the figures of “real” women and supermodels. Greene said the displays, located in the Ferg, the Rec Center, Temple Tutwiler Hall and Burke Hall, are traditionally one of students’ favorite parts of the campaign.
Kerry Luke, a staff psychologist from the Counseling Department, said that 91 percent of college women attempt to control their weight with some sort of dieting and that 57 percent of women age 17-19 report unhealthy eating behaviors.