Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date. The use of she/her/hers pronouns in some articles is not intended to be exclusionary. Eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights.

By Quinn Nystrom, MS

I struggled with an eating disorder for 12 years before I was diagnosed and given a treatment path. A significant part of this delay stemmed from the many misconceptions about what individuals with this disorder look like. For this year’s National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) Awareness Week, the theme is “The Time is Now to Know the Truth about Eating Disorders” for 2025.

Did you know that 94% of people with eating disorders live in “average” or higher-weight bodies? Only 6% are considered medically underweight. For much of those 12 years, I convinced myself that I couldn’t possibly have an eating disorder because:

– I was in a higher-weight body.

– I was never underweight, regardless of the extreme measures I took to lose weight.

– No one around me ever raised concerns about my well-being.

– I had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, leading me to believe that any eating disorder I might have had was cured due to this other diagnosis.

Misconceptions not only shape our self-perception, but they can also persist within the medical community. The prevailing stereotype of someone with an eating disorder is often a white, frail, ballerina-like female. If this is considered the “poster child” for the disease, it becomes easy for others to overlook those who don’t fit that mold. Having gone through multiple treatment programs for an eating disorder, I can assure you that these disorders affect people of all ages, gender identities, races, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body shapes, and weights. Research published in 2019 states that one in three individuals struggling with an eating disorder is male.

What can we do?

1. Get informed about eating disorders from reliable sources (NEDA is an excellent option!).

2. Avoid perpetuating the stigmas and falsehoods surrounding eating disorders and mental illness in general.

3. Be an advocate. Write a blog post, a letter to the editor, a social media post, or share others’ posts about eating disorders this week (or any time of the year!) using the hashtag #EDAW.

4. If you suspect someone you know may be struggling, express your concern in a kind and empathetic manner, free from judgment or criticism. Remember, people don’t self-select mental illnesses.

5. Work together as a society to normalize all body types. The BMI should stand for “Bulls**t Meter Indicator!” I received my son’s BMI during his one-year checkup and the after-visit summary, and I refuse to make any decisions based on that.

Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses. Every 52 minutes, someone dies as a direct consequence of an eating disorder. I can name a dozen women I went to treatment with who are no longer here because they struggled with these disorders. They can be challenging to diagnose and treat and have affordable and accessible options for people to get the most needed resources.