Local group fighting eating disorders in schools

The Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee-Northeast is sponsoring a YES! Team program (Youth Education and Support) in local schools Feb. 22-28 to coincide with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.

The YES! program was developed in 2003 by the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT) to help educate youth about eating disorders, develop a healthy body image, build friendships and support each other.

The activities and information in the YES! Team’s school-based, psychoeducational curriculum help develop and encourage critical thinking skills in teenagers and young adults. These skills include decoding media messages, challenging society’s glorification of thinness, and improving peer communication skills.

Another important purpose of this curriculum is to discourage weight- and shape-related teasing and sexual harassment. Students are also encouraged to take a stand, change their focus and break free from the constraints of an unrealistic body image.

“We are very excited to implement this program to schools in our region,” said local EDCT board member Misty Bays. “Young people are very easily influenced, and this is a great opportunity to teach them that beauty comes from within, warn them about the dangers of eating disorders, and teach them lifelong wellness skills.”

EDCT will be providing before and after posters of celebrities who have been digitally altered, as well as posters that show a Barbie doll’s unrealistic, life-sized proportions.  The group will also be providing poster board, markers, etc. where needed. Participating schools include Unicoi Elementary School, Blountville Middle School, Science Hill High School, Indian Trail Middle School, Daniel Boone High School, Woodland Elementary School and SHHS Alternative School. If your school is interested in having a YES! Team or for more information, call Bays at 423-764-1113.

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