National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

"Be comfortable in your genes. Wear jeans that fit the REAL you." That is the central theme for the National Eating Disorder Association's (NEDA) 20th annual Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW). From February 25 - March 3, 2007, NEDA and other eating disorder support and advocacy groups nationwide, will go public to spread the frightening truth about eating disorders. In a very important technological first, NEDA this year takes EDAW to the web, through its own myspace.neda page, inviting internet savvy youth to read and post stories, questions, and more on the NEDA eating disorder blog.

Poor body image and the endless cycle of dieting are things that many individuals struggle with at some point in their lives. For some, negative body image can trigger a downward spiral into unsafe dieting methods and unhealthy behaviors, resulting in a full blown eating disorder. For years, NEDA has promoted positive body image with its Great Jeans Giveaway, encouraging women - and more recently, men - to accept their real genes and their true body size by donating those never-to-be-worn-again too-small jeans.

Ongoing eating disorder research, highlighted on NEDA's web site (www.natonaleatingdisorders.org) continues to show that body size and shape are strongly influenced by biological factors. Influenced by polished fashion magazines, weight loss pills, and shelves of dieting books, many of us struggle against our natural, genetically-influenced size, determined to fit back into that pair of "skinny jeans." Fighting natural size and shape can lead to unhealthy dieting practices, poor body image, and sometimes to eating disorders. NEDA and research confirm that while each of us can work to adopt a healthy lifestyle and aim to be fit for our particular body type, we cannot change our genes.