Eating Disorder Awareness Week: Everybody knows somebody...

Did you know? Everyone of you coming across this blog knows somebody...

Are you wondering what kinda somebody I'm talking about?

Someone like me. Someone like a couple Facebook friends of mine and a couple old Kappa Delta sorority sisters of mine. Someone like Victoria Beckham or Paula Abdul, Kate Beckinsale or Diana the Princess of Wales, Calista Flockhart, Elton John or Janet Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Portia de Rossi, Mary-Kate Olsen or Tara Reid.

All of these somebody's have one thing in common: having suffered from a potentially deadly EATING DISORDER.

Everybody knows somebody.

Did you know?

-Eating Disorders are the deadliest of all psychiatric illnesses.
-Approximately 8 million people report suffering from an eating disorder; this includes about 1 million boys and men and 7 million girls and women.
-81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being or becoming "fat"
-Half of girls 11-13 years old consider themselves "overweight"
-22% of college women admit to "always" being on a "diet"
-Only 1 in 10 people suffering from an Eating Disorder will ever receive treatment
-3 in 100 women in America suffer from bulimia; 1 in 100 suffer from Anorexia.

Everybody knows somebody who has fallen into the statistical categories above.

Eating disorders do not discriminate by weight, color or gender. Everybody knows somebody who is suffering or who is vulnerable to suffering.

"Everybody Knows Somebody" -NEDA, 2012, Eating Disorder Awareness Week

[I realized this blog was never posted -- it is from February 2012 during Eating Disorder Awareness week. Rather than not posting it, I am posting it now, just  tad bit late :) ]