GatorWell hosts events to create culture of body acceptance

February 24, 2014

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — GatorWell Health Promotion Services is hosting events this week to promote the message of body acceptance as part of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

Body dissatisfaction is the best known contributor to the development of eating disorders. In a 2013 survey of UF students conducted by GatorWell’s assessment team, 70 percent of 18- to 30-year-old women and 43 percent of men reported not liking their bodies. In the same survey, 28 percent of women and 14 percent men said feeling fat frequently interferes with enjoying everyday life.

The “Celebrate EveryBODY” events started today with Mirrorless Monday. GatorWell is partnering with Housing and Residence Education, the Student Health Care Center, and Recreational Sports to encourage students to skip the mirror for a day. The purpose of this initiative is to challenge students to consider their bodies as vehicles to their dreams, not ornaments for others to see. Students will be asked to write positive body affirmations on the paper covering the mirrors such as “I love me” and “I believe in my own beauty.”

The BeYOUtiful Health and Wellness Fair will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Jennings Residence Hall ground floor area. Campus partners and student organizations will provide activities for students to learn about eating disorders and how to create a culture of body acceptance. There will be free food, massages, yoga, games and giveaways.

A team of health educators will be tabling in Turlington Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday to spread the same message of body acceptance by featuring activities and giveaways that highlight body image concerns and eating disorder information.

The last event, EveryBODY Can Exercise, will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Plaza of Americas and will feature fitness instructors from UF RecSports. The purpose of this event is to get students comfortable moving their bodies, to give them a taste of the many types of exercises RecSports has to offer, and to promote exercise as an important component of the larger wellness equation.

Visit http://gatorwell.ufsa.ufl.edu/ for more information about GatorWell Health Promotion Services.