Eating Disorder Awareness Week
By Kateri Couture-Latour
In the United States, there is an annual National Eating Disorder Awareness Week in February. For the last two years, ACS has joined in this campaign.
The goal is to increase awareness and understanding of eating disorders within our community.
Eating disorders…
- Involve extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight, food, and size
- Are serious psychological disorders with both emotional and physical problems
- Can have potentially life-threatening consequences
- Affect men and women of every age, religion, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
This year, our Health and Wellness Club partnered with the Medical Club to organize a week of activities.
The first big activity was an Advisory lesson organized and delivered by students themselves. Grades 9 and 10 advisories were brought together to discuss eating disorders, their signs and symptoms, and how to approach the topic with someone they are concerned about.
On Wednesday, we held a free workshop with Borislava Lyutskanova, a professional nutritionist. Students were invited to join us over lunch for some food and Ms. Lyutskanova shared some tips for health eating and answered students’ questions.
Thursday, Ms. Rafferty led a free yoga class for all levels. Students were introduced to the basics of yoga, as well as the mental and physical benefits of breathing deeply!
To wrap up the week, students were offered free fruit in the cafeteria, accompanied by tips for healthy eating and resources for further information.
The Health and Wellness Club and the Medical club would like to extend our gratitude to all those who participated and helped to make this year’s Eating Disorder Awareness week a success! We would also like to remind you that those affected by eating disorders struggle every day of the year. The more conversations we have about this difficult topic, the easier it will be for those of us suffering to get help. If someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, or if you are interested in learning more, you can find additional information here: