The Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, a training clinic operated by the psychology department, will join hundreds of colleges, hospitals and treatment centers across the country in the second National Eating Disorders Screening Program (NEDSP) during Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Feb. 23-28. The screening is designed primarily for high school and college students, but all are welcome to attend.
Psychologists from the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders will provide free and anonymous screenings at the Yale Women's Center, 198 Wall St., on Thursday, Feb. 26, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; and at Quinnipiac College Alumni Hall in Hamden on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. There will also be screenings for high school students only at Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden and Daniel Hand High School in Madison that week.
Both men and women can have eating disorders, says Kristin Siebrecht, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology. Among the signs of eating disorders are compulsive dieting and exercising, inducing vomiting after heavy meals and the inability to stop eating once you've begun.
"Eating disorders are illnesses that are associated with severe body image distortion and obsession with weight," Siebrecht explains. "Sufferers are terrified of gaining weight and continue to diet, binge, or binge and purge even as their mental and physical health deteriorate. In addition to depression and substance abuse disorders, victims of eating disorders can also develop heart problems, osteoporosis and reproductive difficulties. Left unchecked, eating disorders can kill."
Eating disorders affect more than 5 million Americans. One percent of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa, with an additional 2-3 percent of young women developing bulimia nervosa, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. In addition, many more Americans have disordered eating behaviors and unhealthy attitudes about food, weight and body image, Siebrecht says. A 1992 study revealed that 50 percent of 9-year-old girls and 80 percent of 10-year-old girls have dieted, underscoring America's obsession with thinness.
NEDSP is a public outreach effort designed to educate students about the serious consequences of eating disorders and direct those in need toward treatment. The program provides educational materials, including pamphlets and a video featuring recovering patients who have eating disorders. It also provides students with the opportunity to complete a screening questionnaire and to meet privately with an eating disorders specialist. Those who show symptoms of an eating disorder will be encouraged to make an appointment for a full evaluation. In addition, a list of community resources and referrals will be available.
For more information, contact Kristin Siebrecht at 432-7354.