PULLMAN, Wash.– Health and Wellness Services at Washington State University will sponsor the National Eating Disorders Awareness Week from Feb. 23-27 to provide a reality check about body image.
The National Eating Disorders Association created NEDAW to expand public understanding of eating disorders and to promote positive body image and healthy eating.
“When I was younger I had problems with obsessive eating habits, unhealthy exercise regimes and even bouts of bulimia,” said Sarah Timm, a WSU junior in environmental science and regional planning. “Once I began exercising without overworking myself, and not depriving myself of the right nutrition, I felt healthy, and my body image gradually improved as well.”
“A program on eating disorders would be great for this campus, because most people have had some body image problems,” she said. “More people than you would expect have had eating disorders and not even realized it too.”
Tim Freson, coordinator of WSU’s Health and Wellness Eating Disorders Prevention Program, said, “I believe it is extremely important to raise awareness about body image and eating disorders on the college campus. Both men and women suffer from body dissatisfaction which can lead to eating disorder.”
NEDAW activities include a week-long information table and clothing drive, “Don’t Fight your Genes, Just Change your Jeans!” in the Compton Union Building. Donations can be made from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and will go to the Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse. Those who make donations are eligible to win a gift certificate to Maurices at the Palouse Mall in Moscow. On Feb. 24, guest speaker Roberto Olivardia, co-author of “The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession,” will present research and share the impact eating disorders have on males. Olivardia will speak at 7 p.m. in the Compton Union Building Auditorium. On Feb. 26, there will be a peer presentation workshop from noon to 1 p.m. in the CUB, Room 220. The event will discuss how to help someone with an eating disorder.
For more information, visit the Body Image Eating Disorders Prevention Program Web site at
