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The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) has launched a powerful and provocative new advertising campaign that forces readers to see eating disorders from a unique perspective … Through the eyes of someone suffering with the disease.
“Why can’t an anorexic just eat something?” poses Lynn Grefe, CEO of NEDA. “Why can’t a bulimic stay at the table after dinner? How do children with eating disorders see the world? This ad campaign is thought- provoking, even aggressive, and not likely to be ignored in a magazine or on a bus shelter. It’s meant to evoke strong emotions, to encourage people to educate themselves and to get the help they need. As one school nurse shared, ‘We have no trouble identifying the girls. It is convincing the parents that has been the problem.’”
As part of the extensive print, online, viral and out-of-home campaign, some of the images/ headlines include:
• A belt with a nearly microscopic diameter asking How did it go from losing weight to losing hope?
• A monstrous strawberry skewered on a fork with The Monster Isn’t Under the Bed. It’s in the Fridge.
• A toilet seat cover as a place setting with What’ll We Lose on This Diet? Lots of People Every Year.
• A scale with a lone bean with It Weighs Almost Nothing. Just like the Girl Who’s Having it for Lunch.
Other headlines:
• For Many Young Girls, There’s Something Even More Repulsive Than Boys.
• You Know How Much Time Your Daughter’s on the Computer. But What About the Bathroom Scale?
• An Image Problem Can Kill a Politician and, as it Turns Out, a Little Girl.
“In 1965, the average fashion model weighed just eight percent less than the average American woman,”
Grefe continues. “The average fashion model today is 5’11” and weighs 117 pounds, which makes her thinner than 98 percent of women. Three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight. Yet the average woman stands 5’4”, weighs 140 pounds and wears between a size 12-16. We know that continued exposure to unrealistic images is linked to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in women and girls. Genetics may load the gun, but society pulls the trigger.”
22nd Annual NEDAwareness Week, Feb. 22-28
Also this month, NEDA is observing its 22nd NEDAwareness Week (NEDAW), Feb. 22-28, themed Until Eating Disorders are History… NEDAW is the non-profit group’s largest public outreach campaign, held each year to raise consciousness across the country about the potentially life-threatening seriousness of eating disorders and the societal pressures, attitudes and behaviors which contribute to them. Also to spread a message of hope: Help is available, recovery is possible and those affected are not alone in their struggle!
As part of 2009 NEDAW, NEDA has launched the STAR Program, (States for Treatment Access and Research), a multi-tiered effort to unite individuals, family members, treatment providers and advocacy groups. Being introduced in the legislature of 30 state capitals in February/March, the STAR program promotes a charter developed by the Academy for Eating Disorders that addresses the rights of eating disorder patients. Legislative press briefings will be held in 27 of the states (many during NEDAW) to announce the charter and make policy recommendations, tailored to the individual needs of each state. The program’s goal is to raise awareness among local legislators about the challenges in accessing adequate medical care to battle an eating disorder due to unfair practices by insurance companies and, ultimately, to change state law to address those inequities.
NEDA’s emphasis on the more serious side of these illnesses in 2009 is generating interest nationwide, with volunteer coordinators of events throughout the country using their local media muscle to spread the word about eating disorders. During NEDAW, hundreds of events will be held in communities coast to coast, offering an opportunity for people to gather information and learn how to support those with eating disorders.
Among the events planned: Seminars and workshops on college campuses and in other venues; film festivals; health fairs and screenings; awareness walks; candlelight vigils; fundraisers; artistic performances and Great Jeans Giveways to encourage people to get rid of jeans that don’t fit and to buy jeans that respect one’s genes.
For information on NEDAwareness Week, a list of events being held across the nation during NEDAW and eating disorders in general, visit the website.
Available for Interviews:
• Lynn Grefe, CEO of NEDA.
• Doctors, psychologists & other eating disorder treatment specialists throughout the country.
• Recovered eating disorder patients.
• NEDA Ambassadors:
o Bradley Bayou;
o Elizabeth Showers;
o Emme;
o Jenni Schaefer;
o Jessica Weiner;
o Justin Frederick Ly;
o Karla Mosley;
o Kelly Sullivan;
o Kristen Moeller;
o Sara Evans;
o Scarlett Pomers;
o Zina Garrison.
Did You Know?
• The peak onset of eating disorders occurs during puberty and the late teen/early adult years, but symptoms can occur as young as kindergarten.
• As many as 10 million females and 1 million males in the U.S. are battling eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Approximately 25 million more are struggling with binge eating disorder. Millions practice disordered eating due to an obsession with dieting.
• Eating disorders affect people from all walks of life, including young children, middle-aged women, men and individuals of all races and ethnicities.
• According to the National Institute of Mental Health, eating disorders are serious illnesses with a bio-logical basis modified and influenced by emotional and cultural factors. They are not lifestyle choices.
• Eating disorders are preventable and treatable, yet hundreds of people die from them every year. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
The National Eating Disorders Association (nationaleatingdisorders.org), headquartered in Seattle, Wash., a not-for-profit organization, supports individuals and families affected by eating disorders and advocates for prevention, treatment and research funding for eating disorders. Since the inception of its Helpline in 1999, NEDA has referred more than 50,000 people to treatment and tallies more than 40 million hits annually on its Website.
Or Contact NEDA’s Live Helpline: 800-931-2237, Monday – Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm (PST).
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karen[.]greenleafandassociates.com 
