Eating disorders affect everyone, regardless of race or gender. A February 16, 2020, NECN’s This is New England broadcast featured a panel discussion that included S. Bryn Austin and focused on how eating disorder symptoms affect girls and women, as well as populations that are not generally associated with the disease, such as African American and Latino boys.
According to Austin, who is a professor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED), social media, the consumer environment, and weight discrimination create a “toxic environment” centered around diet culture.
“It’s really a miracle how many people can survive and come through with any semblance of a healthy body image,” Austin said. “[Changing the prevalence of eating disorders is] really about changing the pressures on young people.”
Watch the This is New England clip: Raising Eating Disorder Awareness