2024 Stats and Resources

Happy New Year!

The past few weeks have been full of emotion; we are in the thick of this fight…and we are now seeing light. We’re “heads down” and plowing through – more stable than we have been and we are seeing some beautiful, positive change.

I believe in 2024!

Since life feels a bit “clinical” right now, I thought it would be fitting to share a few ED statistics. We MUST change the way we approach mental illness. 75% of people with ED’s don’t seek professional help – the majority of them feel there is stigma attached to it, and/or they should be able to “kick it on their own” if they just roll up their sleeves. Can you heal a broken arm through will power? How about diabetes? Even the thought itself is absurd. We wouldn’t expect someone to try. Why have we made those with eating disorders feel like they should be ashamed or weak for because they struggle? The health of our world insists that we have this discussion and have it often.

Did you know?

  • Every 60 minutes at least one person dies as a direct result from an eating disorder.
  • At age 6 to 10, girls start to worry about their weight, and by 14, 60 to 70% are trying to lose weight. In fact, one survey found that 77% of children and adolescents as young as 12 dislike their bodies.
  • More people die from eating disorders than breast cancer, yet the National Institute of Health spends 25x more on research and treatment of breast cancer. (Fighting breast cancer is a very noble cause, but we also need to research the brain in a larger capacity by far.)
  • Eating disorders affect an estimated 1 out of 7 people, making them more than 5x as common as autism.
  • Eating disorders affect more people per year than car accidents. Think you don’t know anyone with an ED? You’re wrong – they just don’t share their struggle.

My ask is this – Learn. Talk. Care. Read a book. Listen to a podcast. Be brave enough to have tough conversations.

Looking for a resource? Here are a few to get you started:

Books:

  • Body of Truth: How Science, History, and Culture Drive Our Obsession with Weight—and What We Can Do About It by Harriet Brown
  • More Than a Body by Lindsay and Lexie Kite
  • Reclaiming Body Trust: A Path to Healing and Liberation by Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevan
  • Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight by Linda Bacon, Lindo Bacon, Lucy Aphramor
  • Fat Talk: Parenting in the age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith

Podcasts:

  • Food Psych with Christy Harrison
  • Rethinking Wellness with Christy Harrison
  • Peace Meal - The Emily Program
  • Burnt Toast with Virginia Sole Smith

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