Please note that this is an Archived article and may contain content that is out of date.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

What would you do if you were in my shoes? I had agreed to substitute for a health teacher, and I never knew what material I would be teaching or what projects the students may be in the middle of. I arrive in the morning, review the notes and lesson plan left by the teacher, and follow them.

For this high school health class, I was instructed to have the students complete a worksheet and submit any missing work. The kids got to work. A student from the back of the room approached my desk and sheepishly turned in her assignment. In a hushed voice that I had to lean forward to hear, she asked, “Can you keep my paper turned over and put it at the bottom of the pile?” I responded, “Yes, of course.” At that moment, I had no idea what she was turning in or even her name. The student slinked back to her desk in the far left corner, looking upset and resigned.

As more students turned in their papers, I began to look at the ones on top. The worksheet they were required to submit was about Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, and height. I was shocked to discover that they needed to categorize their obesity level based on their BMI, along with putting down numbers for another person who lived with them. As someone who struggled with bulimia in high school and is now in recovery from my eating disorder, I was appalled that in 2025, we would still think this type of curriculum is appropriate or beneficial. I believe the exact opposite!

In an article for “Rethinking School,” author Katy Alexander wrote, “Fat kids don’t need you to save them from being fat. They need you to save them from your own feelings about fat and our fatphobic culture.” She provides several recommendations for educators:

1. **Examine the Curriculum**: We still have a lot that teaches overt fat hate. Examples include math problems that ask kids to count how many chips someone eats and how this affects their weight, or framing English debates with questions like, “Should we ban junk food in our schools?”

2. **How We Speak About Ourselves**: Teachers are very influential in students’ lives. It’s important to consider how we talk about physical activity, our bodies, and losing weight. For example, saying, “Ooo, I wish I could have that, but I’m watching my sugar after the holidays!” sends the wrong message. We should show kids that all bodies and all foods are valid.

3. **Stop Fatphobia in the Classroom**: If you hear a student commenting about someone else’s body, feel empowered to interject. For instance, you could say, “It’s not OK to comment on other people’s bodies.”

Here’s the dream of author Alexander: “I want a world where fat kids belong at school. Where they fit physically into classrooms, desks, and uniforms; where they fit in the community and are valued and respected for exactly who they are. I want a world where fat kids can belong to themselves at school, living in their bodies and being true to themselves.”

As adults, our words and actions matter, regardless of our role in influencing young people’s lives. If my child came home with this assignment, I would discuss why the teacher may be teaching this from an outdated health perspective. I would likely call or email the teacher to explain that in our home, we don’t fixate on numbers due to a history of eating disorders.

After the bell rang that day, I followed the girl out of the room and asked if I could speak to her one-on-one. She agreed, and I told her, “I’m so sorry I was unaware of what you were turning in. I realized later, when other students submitted their assignments, what it was about. I want you to know that I’ve struggled with an eating disorder all my life, and something like that could have really triggered me. I’m proud of you for advocating for yourself. Just know that your worth will never be determined by a number on a scale or a misleading BMI number!” She jumped into my arms for a hug.