Anorexia and Bulimia affect people of many ages, sexes, and socio-economic backgrounds. Anorexia is defined as limiting one's food intake to the point of starvation. Bulimia is characterized by a food intake of immense proportions followed by a purge through vomiting or laxatives. Both disorders cause severe damage to many parts of the body, as well as the mental and emotional health of the individual. Often these affects are long-term and can be fatal.

Some Eating Disorder Solutions . . . DOs

• Examine your attitudes about body shape, dieting and fat prejudice. You may have pre-conceived ideas that emphasize thinness
• Nourish yourself and your relationships with those you care about.
• Challenge old stories about who you are as a person that don't fit with who you believe you are and where you see your life going.
• Be sure the images of successful females include examples that are healthy and happy, regardless of their weight.
• Be aware of the societal pressures which support the notion that females and males are more valued by how they look than by who they are.
• Beware of unrealistic standards for yourself.
• Understand that perfection is an unachievable goal and will leave your feeling depressed.
• Dieting may appear as a good way to get control of you life, but it never is the be-all-end-all for a good life.
• Make a commitment to educate your male friends about things they except and say that influence a female's perception of her weight and her self-worth.
• Contact Susan Whiting at 283-7125 for additional information and/or help on issues of dieting, wieght control, and overall physical acceptance.

And Some Eating Disorder . . . DON'Ts

• Don't let exercise become "torturcize".
• Don't let the ways of dieting and exercise control your life.
• Don't let your apartment become a site promoting improper diet and exercise (posters, books, roommates, etc.)
• Don't allow discussions about food, dieting, weight, and exercise be dominant in your conversations.
• Don't get in to thinking of food as "good" or "bad". People are neither good or bad based on their food choices.
• Don't let numbers rule your life--stop counting calories, fat grams, and pounds; and stop worrying about your breast size, waist size, and pant size.
• Dont' let anorexia and bulimina isolate you.
• Don't negatively compare yourself.
• Don't believe that you can avoid anorexia's or bulimia's effects. Both disorders are brutal to everyone.
• Don't forget that there is nothing wrong with a body that can function and have fun, regardless of what it looks like.