DeKALB | NIU counseling services and the School of Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences will teach how to “Be Comfortable in Your Genes” during National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The theme parallels that of the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA).

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is a national event initiated by the NEDA. The organization is holding its 20th eating disorder awareness week from this past Sunday through the next, as stated on the NEDA Web site.

According to the Web site, “eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and binge-eating disorder include extreme emotions, attitudes and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues.”

“The theme for this year, ‘Be Comfortable in Your Genes,’ really emphasizes the fact that genetics determine body size and shape,” said Kishon Wusterbarth, a pre-doctoral intern and counselor for counseling services. “It’s important that we take care of our bodies by trying to eat healthy and live a healthy life.”

Wusterbarth said it’s not always possible to change body size and shape it into something it’s not.

Counseling services and FCNS, along with the NEDA, also incorporated the “Great Jeans Giveaway,” where people can donate jeans and other clothing items that do not fit anymore to give to a local charity.

Wusterbarth said the goal is to encourage people to fluctuate their weight in a healthy way. Donation boxes are provided on the first floor of the Campus Life Building, at the Asian American Center, on the second floor of Grant Tower C, and in various locations at the Campus Recreation Center.

All presentations held for NEDAW 2007 are free and open to all. The FCNS 502 class also helped organize events.

Martha O’Gorman, a dietitian for Health Services and a presenter at the event, said there are a range of feelings and emotions related to how we eat, including healthy eating, disordered eating and eating disorders. O’Gorman said she sees many individuals with disordered thoughts about eating, body image and weight issues.

“The disorder is about body image and self-esteem, as well as deeper emotional issues,” O’Gorman said. “Successful treatment will include psychological counseling as well as on-going nutritional counseling.”

Since there are dangers associated with eating disorders, O’Gorman said it is necessary to have a team-treatment approach, working with counselors, nutritionists, psychologists and medical doctors.

“I think it’s often underestimated the severity and significance that eating disorders can have on people,” Wusterbarth said. “Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychological disorders. There are significant consequences to having an eating disorder, or having disordered eating of any kind.”

Though it is still a myth that eating disorders affect only white, middle-class to upper-class white women, eating disorders occur in as many as one million men and 10 million women from various races, cultures and backgrounds, said Anne Kubal, counselor for counseling services.

For more information on NEDAW 2007 or eating disorders, go to www.nationaleatingdisorders.org. To set up an appointment with counseling services, call 753-1206. Walk-in hours are also available.