An NIU support group is lending a helping hand this year to those with eating disorders.

NIU University Resources for Women and the Counseling and Student Development Center are co-sponsoring the support group Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

Patti Ruckel, a counselor in the Counseling and Student Development Center, said ANAD is for people with eating disorders, their families and their friends.

Ruckel said the “listening, the understanding and the encouraging” found in the support group helps those involved deal with their eating disorders.

Recovering victims who have had similar experiences lead the meetings. Ruckel said everyone involved with the group is “accepting and caring” to others.

About seven people attended the group’s first meeting. But, Ruckel said as many as 20 people have attended the group in the past.

Eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are common among young people, she said. Nationally, about 20 percent of college females suffer from some kind of eating disorder.

“Eating disorders can be extremely dangerous to (one’s) health,” Ruckel said.

Anyone suffering from a disorder should get help, because it can lead to death, she said.

Along with the support group, the Counseling and Development Center offers a workshop entitled “Body Love,” which is designed to help people feel better about their bodies.

A “Learning About Eating Disorders” class at the center also educates people about these problems.

The support group runs on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in NIU’s University Resources for Women building.

For more information call the NIU Counseling and Student

Development Center at 753-1206.