Posts Tagged “Body Image”

By Sarah Hrudka, The Emily Program Outreach Specialist

It’s no secret that in the vessel of body image and eating disorders, media, and therefore society is a prominent influence. Often, we only see its effects from the scope of our own city or region, but my recent trip to Boston has flagrantly reminded me that these issues bare no mind to any one region. Moreover, when we are not educating and creating awareness, the result is wayward behavior on behalf of something that people simply cannot grasp, but that is where ‘power of the masses’ can come in to alleviate the chatter.

Eating Disorder Awareness Week is in full swing. There are many community and awareness events occurring this week. We were thrilled when Saint Paul City Ballet agreed to share their inspirational and courageous views of body image, and the idea that each and every person’s body is different. It’s important to embrace the body we have and take care of it. Our body is our body. It helps us do the activities we enjoy and to move about our days. For these dancers, their bodies give them the ability to perform their art – ballet. And they vow to “Take Back the Tutu.”

It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week and we’re excited to share insight from dancers at Saint Paul City Ballet about being themselves and embracing their bodies for what they help them do – perform their art. This two-part series will take you through the background of how “Taking Back the Tutu” came to be and share statements written by the nine dancers at the Company.

Re-posted from Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders (CCED) blog archives. CCED and The Emily Program partnered in 2014.

Our expert panel answers your questions about body image and eating disorders.

Thanks to those of you who joined us on Monday at “Body Beautiful,” presented by Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders and John Carroll University. We had a great turnout! Students, professors, eating disorder professionals, and families came out to increase awareness and promote hope around body image issues and eating disorders.

The event, which ran in conjunction with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, featured a student interactive art show, “Mirror Images” and a screening of the popular documentary, “America the Beautiful.” Immediately following, our expert panel was there to answer questions from the audience.

Re-posted from Cleveland Center for Eating Disorders (CCED) blog archives. CCED and The Emily Program partnered in 2014.

Males are historically underrepresented throughout the eating disorder field- as patients, treatment professionals, by diagnosis and prevalence, in research studies, and in stories of recovery. 30 years ago men with eating disorders were virtually invisible and options for treatment were mostly non-existent. Fortunately, we are at a tipping point in our understanding of males and eating disorders. While major gaps still exist in our understanding, we are continuously learning more about males with ED.

According to the National Comorbidity Study (Hudson, 2007), lifetime prevalence in ED in men is:

Anorexia Nervosa- 0.3%

Bulimia Nervosa- 0.5%

Binge Eating Disorder- 2%

In this study, over 50% of men also had co-morbidities.

In a study by Striegel-Moore, et al in 2009, over 26% of men in the community had ED symptomatology.

**Content warning: This is one person’s story; everyone will have unique experiences in recovery and beyond. Some stories may mention eating disorder thoughts, behaviors, and symptoms. Please use your discretion when reading and speak with your support system as needed.

By Maia Polson, a woman in recovery

Many people experience physical changes in their bodies during the process of recovery. Your process may require weight restoration in order to get your body from a state of depletion back to health. Or, it may require you to accept your body where it’s at right now, and to let go of your desire to change your body shape and weight.