Spring Break
Eating disorder proven to be deadly
Katherine Helms, Contributing Writer, khelms@smu.edu
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: News
The death rate of anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than that of all other causes of death in females from ages 15 to 24.
Spreading the Word About Disordered Eating (S.W.A.D.E.) was started in hopes of improving this statistic and raising awareness about eating disorders around the SMU campus.
"It seems from observation that a substantial percentage of SMU students struggle from disordered eating. I would compare it to Vanderbilt, whose statistics show that one in four of their female students struggle from eating disorders," said Elizabeth Carlock, president of SMU S.W.A.D.E.
Carlock served as president of S.W.A.D.E at Highland Park High School, and, in her senior, year began to spread it to other high schools in the Dallas metroplex. Now, she believes it is necessary to start the program at SMU.
S.W.A.D.E. is in the process of beginning but has not officially held any events. Carlock intends to draw student interest and hold a meeting in the next few weeks. She believes once the program kicks off it will be a way for students to help each other learn to appreciate their bodies and educate other students about eating.
S.W.A.D.E. is the youth outreach program of The Elisa Project, which aims for students to support other students and promote a healthy body image. The Elisa Ruth McCall endowment was established at SMU in 1997. Like many college students, Elisa McCall struggled with an eating disorder.
Throughout her battle, McCall kept a journal about her experience, which would eventually come to touch many lives in the community. She died at the age of 20, but her story lives on and will continue to make an impact on the students at SMU and the community.
In 1999, this endowment grew into a much larger project, The Elisa Project, which aimed to not only help students at SMU, but also to reach out to the entire community. The Elisa Project has hopes of eventually spreading nationally.
While the project has penetrated a large part of the Dallas community, many involved wished to see increased student involvement on the SMU campus. Therefore, Spreading the Word About Disordered Eating was started.
Spreading the Word About Disordered Eating (S.W.A.D.E.) was started in hopes of improving this statistic and raising awareness about eating disorders around the SMU campus.
"It seems from observation that a substantial percentage of SMU students struggle from disordered eating. I would compare it to Vanderbilt, whose statistics show that one in four of their female students struggle from eating disorders," said Elizabeth Carlock, president of SMU S.W.A.D.E.
Carlock served as president of S.W.A.D.E at Highland Park High School, and, in her senior, year began to spread it to other high schools in the Dallas metroplex. Now, she believes it is necessary to start the program at SMU.
S.W.A.D.E. is in the process of beginning but has not officially held any events. Carlock intends to draw student interest and hold a meeting in the next few weeks. She believes once the program kicks off it will be a way for students to help each other learn to appreciate their bodies and educate other students about eating.
S.W.A.D.E. is the youth outreach program of The Elisa Project, which aims for students to support other students and promote a healthy body image. The Elisa Ruth McCall endowment was established at SMU in 1997. Like many college students, Elisa McCall struggled with an eating disorder.
Throughout her battle, McCall kept a journal about her experience, which would eventually come to touch many lives in the community. She died at the age of 20, but her story lives on and will continue to make an impact on the students at SMU and the community.
In 1999, this endowment grew into a much larger project, The Elisa Project, which aimed to not only help students at SMU, but also to reach out to the entire community. The Elisa Project has hopes of eventually spreading nationally.
While the project has penetrated a large part of the Dallas community, many involved wished to see increased student involvement on the SMU campus. Therefore, Spreading the Word About Disordered Eating was started.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Sally Neff
posted 3/08/08 @ 3:45 PM CST
Good article and I hope ALL the young women heed this advice..
Post a Comment