Elizabeth Pulanco/Winonan

Keri Clifton, administrative and outreach manager from the Emily Program, had an important message for Winona State University students last week.

“A person’s overall health is not directly connected with their weight,” Clifton said. “This is a very narrow definition of health. We must also factor in mental and emotional health.”

Clifton has seen firsthand the issues that arise from focusing too much on weight. The Emily Program provides treatment and counseling for people with eating disorders in the Twin Cities. As part of National Eating Disorder

Awareness Week, Feb. 23 to March 1, Clifton and Winona State put on a Healthy Monday presentation about eating disorders and body image.

An eating disorder is characterized by disturbances of eating behavior, whether it is eating too little (anorexia nervosa), eating too much in a short amount of time (binge eating), or eating and then immediately removing the food from your system (bulimia nervosa). The Emily Program website states that 6.5 percent of adolescent males and 14.6 percent of adolescent females in Minnesota have eating disorders.

Although eating disorders are psychological conditions, many environmental factors can trigger the symptoms.
“The media bombards us with images of what the ideal person is, and this has an impact on how we view ourselves,” Clifton said.

That, according to freshman Kaitlin McCoy, is part of why these disorders still occur in light of how much the general public knows about them.

“Our cultural obsession with beauty makes it hard for people to have a positive body image,” McCoy said.

Another contributing factor is the way food is being advertised. Most of the food advertised is fast food, which is known for not being healthy. The media constantly tells the public to eat this unhealthy food, and then it criticizes them for not looking how they are supposed to.

Rachel Allen, an officer for Active Minds, also spoke of the media’s influence on body image.

“The media puts pressure on people to look a way that seems more acceptable.” Allen said.
Rachel Slater, a behavioral health specialist, gave great advice on how to treat and prevent symptoms of eating disorders.

“Health isn’t just about nutrition. It is also about managing stress,” Slater said. “You have to find a healthy way to manage stress without abusing food.”

Slater also mentioned the importance of being in tune with the body, eating when hungry and being able to stop eating when satisfied.

Another point vital to maintaining a positive body image is knowing “healthy” means different things to different people.