This week has been designated National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, dedicated to spurring conversation and bringing understanding about eating disorders.
Spartan Body Pride, a group affiliated with Olin Health Center, hosted events this week to engage students and staff in the conversation.
Among the events were yoga, a documentary showing and a discussion on intuitive eating.
Sage Gauss, social work junior and president of Spartan Body Pride, said the week is important at MSU because it addresses an issue she feels has remained common in college.
“It’s such a prevalent issue on college campuses, and it hasn’t gone away,” Gauss said.
Andrea Kelly, a social work freshman and the event coordinator for Spartan Body Pride, said it’s important to bring attention to eating disorders because they can be common during a time of change and transition.
“(College age) is definitely an age group that can be affected by it so we want to promote the idea that it’s good to have positive body image and live a healthy lifestyle,” Kelly said.
In addition to the discussion and raising awareness aspect, Gauss said educating on the disorders and helping others combat them is a part of the week.
“Some people just don’t know the severity of (eating disorders) and the resources MSU has to help out with them,” Gauss said.
Nutritionists Anne Buffington and Peggy Crum lead an informative discussion about intuitive eating, or to put it more simply, the process of paying attention to the senses indicating when the body is hungry to develop a better relationship with food.
Buffington, who also is the group’s adviser, said having a stable relationship with food is important.
“Restrictive and restrained eating is so normalized in our culture, and it’s not normal,” Buffington said. “Eating is an emotional experience and it should feel good to nourish your body.”
Unfortunately, an event that was supposed to happen at The Rock on Farm Lane and close the week, was canceled due to inclement weather.
Students and members of the group were going to “Say Something Nice” and spread positivity among the attendees.
Despite the cancellation, Kelly said it should be set for a later date in the future.
“We think it will be a more popular event if we do it in the spring time,” Kelly said.
