This year, the Women’s Resource Center at Sacramento State has focused on eating disorders and spreading awareness of these disorders to the campus community.

The first event sponsored by the center took place Wednesday night in the Sutter Hall dorms. At this event two peer health educators, Stacy Richardson, junior dietetics major, and Gina Profiga, sophomore nutrition major, created a PowerPoint presentation highlighting common and uncommon eating disorders, where to find help, symptoms of an eating disorder and the side effects caused by an eating disorder.

Profiga said she did not expect a large audience for their presentation because not much publicity had been done around campus to prepare for the event. She said the small turn out was unfortunate because spreading awareness on these disorders is important.

Only two students attended the presentation Wednesday night – Commell Johnson, junior social work major, and Preschee Johnson, junior social work major. The two came to get information for a project they are doing on domestic abuse.

Richardson and Profiga spoke about verbal, physical and sexual abuse in the home and how it can result in an eating disorder due to constant degradation. Commell and Preschee both said they received the information they came in search of.

In the presentation Richardson stressed the magnitude of an eating disorder.

“The rate of death due to an eating disorder is higher than many other disorders. Therefore, eating disorders should be taken very seriously,” Richardson said.

Profiga said these eating disorders are prevalent in all genders, ethnicities and races.

Richardson said there are common misconceptions in society about eating disorders. She said unlike what some believe, eating disorders are not all about the food. Richardson said normally the underlying psychological issue behind the eating disorder is what needs to be addressed. This is why seeking and receiving professional health is so important for those suffering from an eating disorder.

Profiga said eating disorders are normally an unspoken issue because so much shame comes attached in each individual case.

She said it would have been nice if more individuals had shown up for the presentation,9 that way she could speak out for those too embarrassed to do so themselves.

The next event on eating disorders will be Monday from 2-3 p.m.

Katrina Tupper can be reached at [email protected]