Eating disorders awareness week provides helpful information through events and panels

Eating Disorders Awareness Week will be Feb. 27 to March 3 at Southeast Missouri State University.

The week will involve various events to provide education on eating disorders and how they can be treated. It is run by a joint effort between Health and Human Services, University Counseling Services and the Student Dietetic Association.

"Eating disorders are prevalent on college campuses and usually highly secretive," Linda Vogelsang, counselor at Southeast, said. "So the need for information and education is great."

The first of the events is an expert panel on the subject of eating disorders at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 in Crisp Hall 125. Vogelsang and Theresa Chesnut, lead eating disorder therapist at Castlewood Treatment Center, will discuss how disorders can be prevented and treated, as well as how to intervene. Some of the topics include if eating disorders are inheritable and if anyone can develop one.

A panel on recovery from disorders will start at 6 p.m. Feb. 28 in Crisp 125. Individuals who have dealt with eating disorders will discuss their experiences and how they cope with them in the present. Afterward, Vogelsang will facilitate a question and answer period. Some of the questions that frequently come up are when the speakers recognized their problems and what is the hardest part of recovery.

"The recovery panel is my favorite event because it offers hope and understanding for those people suffering with an eating disorder," Vogelsang said.

Southeast professor of psychology Dr. Shawn Guiling, will present the documentary "America the Beautiful," which addresses the American pursuit of being thin and considered beautiful at noon Feb. 29 in Crisp 125. Guiling will also lead a discussion of the film and answer any questions.

Tori Vanpool, a counselor at Southeast, will lead a discussion on body image, what shapes it and what can be done to keep it positive at 5 p.m. March 1 in Crisp 125.

"A lot of the main discussion will be about what body image actually is," Vanpool said. "There are a lot of outside factors. The media heavily influences the way we view ourselves."

The week will conclude with a 5K run/walk at 7:30 a.m. March 3 at Capaha Park Shelter No.1 to support the National Eating Disorders Awareness Committee. Students wishing to participate may sign up at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org.

University Counseling Services will offer anonymous eating disorder screenings for 30 minutes prior to and after each event. Screenings will also be available from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 in the Student Recreation Center-North. The screening tool was researched and published by the National Eating Disorders Association.

"Basically, it asks a whole range of questions," Vanpool said. "Some of the questions pertain to actual food intake, exercise level, eating habits, whether you're overeating or restricting eating. Really, it covers a broad range of behaviors and we tabulate the results and calculate a score. That tells us if someone needs a referral, maybe for services, maybe a suggestion of some sort of eating disorder concern going on."