Stacie Fanelli had no idea that 6-year-olds tell their parents they think they’re fat.

Fanelli, co-president of the SHAPES Body Image club, had no idea that one in 10 people who have an eating disorder are male. She also wasn’t aware that a person does not have to be underweight to have an eating disorder; a person can be overweight with one.

That trend is represented in this year’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which will run from Monday to Saturday and focus on the theme: “I had no idea.”

NEDA Week will include events such as informational sessions, movie screenings, speakers, panels and more. Through these activities, members of SHAPES Body Image, Active Minds and What the Health magazine hope to educate both sufferers and non-sufferers about eating disorders and body image.

Those three SU organizations, along with the Syracuse branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness are all co-sponsoring and coordinating the events and activities for NEDA Week. This is the fourth year that Active Minds has organized events and activities for NEDA Week.

Kylie Kerker, vice president of Active Minds, said that multiple clubs are organizing NEDA Week because they are trying to get as much publicity and involvement in the week’s events and activities as possible.

One of the biggest events during NEDA Week is the “Love Your Genes” jean drive, which is a campaign that was started by the Active Minds club and What the Health magazine last year. The point of the drive is to get people to donate “too small” jeans they are constantly trying to fit back into so they can start having a healthier body image.

“They symbolize that feeling of inferiority we all know,” Fanelli said in an email. “So by donating that pair of jeans, you’re also lifting that pressure to be what you’ve got in your head as ‘good enough’ when really you’re good enough already.”

The jean drive will be every day of NEDA Week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Schine Atrium, according to Syracuse University News, and all donated jeans will go to the Rescue Mission at the end of the week.

Mali Golomb-Leavitt, president of Active Minds, said in an email that last year the group collected about 70 pairs of jeans, and the goal this year is to beat that number.

One of the goals of NEDA Week is to help people realize their individual self-worth. The clubs sponsoring the week are trying to promote this message all over campus so people will learn to love their body, especially in a campus environment.

“This week is so important because eating disorders are very prevalent on college campuses where there is a lot of pressure to be thin, fit and in control,” Golomb-Leavitt said. “We want people to love themselves and feel beautiful just the way they are.”

Paige Carlotti, editor-in-chief of What the Health magazine, said she had no idea that struggling with an eating disorder is a mental illness. Carlotti said eating disorders can be a taboo subject, and that they are more prevalent on college campuses than people realize because not a lot of people talk about it.

With the help of NEDA Week, the sponsoring clubs are hoping to get the word out that eating disorders and body image can and should be talked about.

Published on February 23, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Kayli: kathomps@syr.edu