Rockford — A community event focusing on the unseen dangers of eating disorders is coming to Rockford Public Schools.
“Eating Disorders: Hiding in Plain Sight,” hosted by the district in partnership with Sanford Behavioral Health and Forest View Hospital, will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 at the Rockford Public Schools Auditorium, 4100 Kroes St. NE.
The event will feature presentations from medical and clinical professionals on the hidden consequences of eating disorders; signs, symptoms and supportive responses; and tools for management of these conditions.
Local agencies will be present in the lobby to provide additional information to community members after the event, and anyone is welcome to attend.
Larinda Fase, Rockford’s director of special programs, said Sanford Behavioral Health has met with the district’s social workers and school counselors to talk about some of the lesser-known aspects of eating disorders, including its prevalence among athletes, and the degree to which over-exercising can be a symptom.
“Obviously, we have a large school with lots of high-schoolers and we also have a big athletic program, and we often see eating disorder issues come up with our athletes,” Fase said. “Prevention and early intervention is important in high school and middle school, so we wanted to provide (students) with the tools to recognize the warning signs in themselves and their friends.
“We wanted to promote body image awareness because it’s such a critical period for body image.”
The hope, said Fase, is to reduce stigma and clear up misconceptions about the complex issue.
“People think eating disorders are about vanity or only looking a certain way, or that it only affects a certain group. We wanted to dispel that myth and show that eating disorders are complex conditions that can affect anyone regardless of gender, age or background,” she said. “We’re hoping to foster some empathy and support, so if we see someone in our community that we think may be suffering from an eating disorder, (we know how to) go about helping that person.”
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