Body image is everywhere: high-fashion models that weigh 90 pounds and men on the cover of GQ Magazine who put any average Joe to shame. Is this how we all should look?

Health officials at Sacramento State think that this perception of body image is completely misconstrued. It is because of this that they have decided to participate in the national campaign to help people know about dieting and living healthy in an event called Love Your Body Week.

The event will be sponsored by the Student Health Center, FIT Health/Health Connection and the Women’s Resource Center.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 20 percent of college students exhibit some type of eating disorder. Women are not the only ones affected; men fall victim as well.

Kalyn Coppedge, Health educator for Sac State’s Fit Health, thinks the recognition of eating disorders is very important in a place with so many young and impressionable people.

“I think it is really important to acknowledge eating disorders and to understand that it affects more than one person,” Coppedge said.

Coppedge has been affiliated with the event at Sac State for three years but has participated with the event for seven years.

“We have grown each year and the response is really good. This year I have had even more of a positive response, with professors wanting to bring their whole class to learn more about healthy dieting,” Coppedge said.

Some professors are willing to give extra credit to those who attend any of the events, Coppedge said.

On Monday, an event was held in the union that provided students with a substantial amount of information regarding dietary supplements and how they effect the body.

Students participated in a game of health jeopardy and were separated into teams where they were asked questions. Some of the questions were about what the benefits of sports drinks are, and what are the differences between fat soluble and water soluble vitamins.

Many of the students who attended thought that health is a very important factor to look at in any circumstance.

Rose Keyser, junior nursing major, insists that being healthy is an essential component of living well.

“You want to make sure you are healthy, if you are not healthy you are not going to live long, and I am definitely a big achiever of working out, I work out about five to six days a week,” Keyser said.

At the event an exercise physiologist Jason Blessinger was concerned that too many people are taking dietary supplements without knowing the outcome of it.

“Dietary supplements are not regulated as well and you can get pretty much what you need in order to be healthy from eating a well balanced diet,” Bessinger said.

This week is held to make sure that students know a little bit more about what is healthy for them to do and what is not healthy, Bessinger said. He feels that people have such a misconstrued image of themselves and it is not okay.

Michelle Ho, sophomore liberal studies major, thinks that it is important for every person to love his or her body and thinks her body is just fine.

“I am happy with it like I try and eat right, I don’t really exercise as much as I should, but I am happy with it,” Ho said.

There will be different events that are going on through Friday. Today there will be a lecture at 11 a.m. in the Capitol Room of the Union discussing all there is to know about dieting. Nikki Rodriguez, student manager of the health and wellness promotions services, will be one of the presenters who is helping with the event.

“I think that it is a really positive way for students to realize that the human body comes in many different sizes. There is a positive take-home message about being good to your body that happens during this week,” Rodriguez said.

This is Rodriguez’s second year participating in Love Your Body Week. She was an intern for the Health Center last year and was amazed to see how much these lectures changed her perspective on appreciating the body that a person may have.

“To be honest, when I first heard about Love Your Body Week, I thought, ‘Wow nobody will care,’ but then I took a look around at the media and realized that the media portrays women as something most of us are not,” Rodriguez said.

In addition to providing something for students, they are offering a chance for students to give back. Throughout the week, health officials at Sac State will be collecting jeans in order to donate them to Women Escaping A Violent Environment.

“We want people to let go of those jeans they wanted to keep to try and fit into later, and just accept their bodies,” Coppedge said.

On Thursday there will be a lecture from noon to 1:30 p.m., called “How to Help a Loved One with an Eating Disorder” given by Tony Paulson, clinical director of Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program.

“I hope they hear what an eating disorder really is,” Coppedge said.

The event Body Image Myth Busters will be held on Friday to let students know how to gain a more positive outlook on how they really should look at their bodies.

“A lot of guys just want to be ripped, but they need to be healthy too. The idea here is to get people to be (activists) and say that every body is beautiful and different,” Coppedge said.

Coppedge wants people to realize that becoming healthy is a life change and must be practiced every day.

“Diet is something you can be on or off. It is a lifestyle change that is supposed to make you feel healthier; I think that is what our culture does not portray,” Coppedge said.

Both Coppedge and Rodriguez want to make sure that both male and female students take advantage of the events. It is meant for students to better understand the importance of being healthy and comfortable with how their bodies look.

Vanessa Johnson can be reached [email protected]