Poway Unified Workshop Focuses on Eating Disorders

Long before her ribs protrude, her hair falls out and she portrays what people have come to expect of anorexia, she seems like yet another teenage girl unhappy with her body in the mirror.

Except her pleas of "I'm so fat!" are coupled with hours upon hours of exercise, bites instead of meals, binges instead of balance.

When it comes to recognizing eating disorders in their children, parents may not always have the tools or knowledge to see what's going on. To help with that, the Poway Unified School District is offering a free workshop on Jan. 18 focused on anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

The workshop is part of a series offered through the district's Caring Connections Center, an arm of the Student Support Services Department, that helps students and their familes deal with a range of emotional, social and academic issues.

The eating disorders workshop with registered dietician Kelly Hinds is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18 at the Caring Connections Center, 13626 Twin Peaks Rd. Bldg. 300. It's open to parents across the district, though pre-registration is required by calling 858-668-4084 and leaving your name and phone number.

According to the 2010-11 California Healthy Kids Survey, 25 percent of PUSD fifth-graders said they'd been teased about their body at school, while 9 percent reported feeling like they were too fat. A little more than one-third of the fifth-graders said they were doing something to try to lose weight, though the survey did not specify what.

Five percent of PUSD seventh- and ninth-graders reported using diet pills one or more times in their lives.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 2.7 percent of 13 to 18 year olds have an eating disorder. Girls are 2.5 times more likely to have an eating disorder than boys. Muscle dysmorphia—when an individual has an extreme concern with gaining muscle—is often how distorted body image manifests in men and boys, according to the institute.