YUMA, Ariz.- February is national eating disorder awareness month. According to a recent poll on eatingdisorder.com, more than 10 million females and one million males suffer from some sort of eating disorder in the United States. The website eatingdisorder.com is geared towards information on all unhealthy eating habits and also provides resources to help people overcome the disorder.
Kella Price, a certified nutritionist and fitness expert in Yuma, said, “I want to make it clear that it’s not just females that are impacted and can have eating disorders like Anorexia or Bulimia just the same as women”.
The website eatingdisorder.com says four out of 10 people have suffered or know someone that has suffered from some sort of poor eating habit. The website also states 25 percent of American men and 45 percent of American woman are on some sort of diet.
Price says she doesn’t encourage people to diet, but rather to make positive lifestyle changes. Price said, “I want people to have healthy eating habits, so making sure that they are getting a well balanced diet which includes protein, vegetables and fruits, and some healthy carbohydrates some grains or sweet potatoes those types of things, and some healthy fats would be things like avocados, olives.”
According to hope.com, more than 50 percent of teenage girls and 30 percent of teenage boys have unhealthy weight control behaviors.
Mary-Kay Harton of Arizona Western College wants students to know there are outlets that offer hope for those that are suffering from an eating disorder. Harton said, “A student is dealing with an issue outside of the classroom, they are not focused inside the classroom, so an eating disorder puts them at risk their health their mental awareness.”