It’s time we put real resources into eating disorders education and research

I was in sixth grade the first time I thought of my weight as a problem. We were weighed in gym class and the numbers were shared with our teacher. In front of the entire class, she informed us that there were only two girls among us who didn’t need to worry about their weight. The rest of us were encouraged to think of ways to increase our exercise and decrease the amount we eat to become more “healthy.”

From that day on, I was more self-conscious and aware of judgment from my peers. That, coupled with doing Weight Watchers and other diets with my mom (along with a mix of genetics and trauma), laid the foundation for my eating disorder.

Like many people, I didn’t realize that people in any size body could have eating disorders. I was eventually diagnosed with atypical anorexia, which just means that I was experiencing anorexia in a higher weight body. Even the name “atypical anorexia” feeds into the misconceptions that only people in lower weight bodies can experience anorexia. 

The truth is, eating disorders don’t have a “look” and you can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them. A study indicated that over half the “overweight” adults (51.3 percent) being targeted are metabolically healthy, and one in four “normal weight” (23.5 percent) metabolically unhealthy adults are overlooked. 

Eating disorders will affect 30 million Americans of all body sizes over the course of their lifetime. For this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Feb. 24-March 1, 2020) campaign, the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is asking everyone, not just those who have been personally impacted by eating disorders, to advocate for more funding for research and eating disorders prevention in schools. 

If we can help children from an early age build resources to appreciate the inherent value and “health” of their bodies, to make those messages the norm among their peers and in their own self-talk, and to critique messages that skew information saying they are only healthy or desirable if they’re thin, they will be more likely to speak out if they or someone they know are struggling. 

And, perhaps, if the adults in their lives stop perpetuating messages steeped in weight stigma and recognize that eating disorders of all kinds happen in bodies of all sizes, we can make it safer for those children to let us know when they need help.

One concrete action we can take right now is to urge lawmakers to support the Eating Disorders Prevention in Schools Act, which would require schools to include eating disorders prevention in their Local School Wellness Policies. This act was previously included as Section 4 of the Long-Term InVestment in Education for Wellness Act, or LIVE Well Act, first introduced in 2018 by Rep. Alma S. Adams (NC-12) and reintroduced in 2019. These policies are guides that school districts use to create supportive school nutrition and physical activity environments.  

Our National Eating Disorders Awareness Week campaign also includes messaging advocating for a general increase in federal funding for eating disorders research. Despite having the second-highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders, surpassed only by opioid addiction, eating disorders research currently only receives $0.93 cents of federal funding per affected person. How are we supposed to eradicate a disorder that we’ve invested such little resources into understanding?

The concept of “health” is complex and multifaceted. For far too long, assumptions about people’s health have been made solely on their weight. Every generation has grown up with their own form of weight discrimination, internalized based on their relationships with the media, peers, and their family and loved ones. 

My sixth-grade teacher would not be the only person in my life who would put their concerns over the number on the scale above my physical and mental wellbeing. It’s our responsibility as citizens to ensure our children have the tools they need to break this harmful cycle. 

Joslyn Smith is the director of public policy & community relations at the National Eating Disorders Association.