DES MOINES, Iowa — This week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week, a global advocacy campaign aimed at eliminating stigma around eating disorders.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, nearly 29 million Americans will experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Those can include anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder and other types of disordered eating.
Since she was 13 years old, Sydney Miller has battled anorexia.
"16 is when I started to kind of get the help that I needed through various treatment facilities, one of them being the University of Iowa, which unfortunately, has closed now," Miller said.
Now, she helps coordinate advocacy events throughout Iowa, hoping that by sharing her story, others will feel safe to seek resources.
"It's important to me to share that there's so many other people out there that may not fit that perfect mold of what an eating disorder looks like to everyone else,” Miller added. “There's lots of different types of eating disorders."
Stephanie Proud, a registered dietician and nutrition expert, is on the board of the Eating Disorder Coalition of Iowa. She told Local 5 that Eating Disorders Awareness Week is a chance to share more knowledge about eating disorders and provide more resources.
"The prevalence of eating disorders has really increased quite a bit in the last several years,” Proud said. “And some of that is probably better awareness and treatment for it too, along with some other societal changes."
Even with increased prevalence, Proud said eating disorders are still underdiagnosed and treated, as society's perception of who can have an eating disorder is limited.
"Only 6% of people with eating disorders are clinically or medically underweight,” Proud said. “So, eating disorders really don't discriminate on gender, on race, on size, on any of those things."
Miller hopes advocacy for eating disorder awareness will continue year-round.
"When you're in that mindset, you think you don't think of anything else. That's what your mind is just focused on is 'Okay, what can I do to not eat? What can I do to exercise or make my weight go down?'" Miller said. "I’m really proud of advocacy toward the cause. I’ve never really been shy about kind of explaining what I’ve been through, because I do think it can help others kind of realize that there are treatment options."
In honor of Eating Disorders Awareness Week, the Eating Disorder Coalition of Iowa is hosting its annual awareness event this weekend at Grand View University.
Friday, a provider conference is happening to provide continuing education training on eating disorder work. Then on Saturday, a general community workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.