Conclusion

In conclusion, my bill was not passed at the end of this semester. As of right now it is stuck in committees, which scares me because past bills just like this one never made it out of committee. I have learned so much about eating disorders this semester and how many people are effected by them each year. They are truly silent killers because the subject is so taboo and it is a form of self mutilation. I had a lot of fun reading blogs and posting on them. I was disappoint on the government end of this project. I never got a response back from my sponsor. In the end, I hope this bill gets passed because this topic is near and dear to my heart. I really enjoyed blogging and hope I get a chance to do something like this again.

FREED ACT

U.S. Senators Harkin, Klobuchar, and Franken introduce bill

to confront eating disorders in the U.S.

For Immediate Release
Contact:
David Jaffe
Executive Director, EDC
202-543-9570

(Washington, D.C. - March 3, 2011) - The United States took an important step toward addressing the national emergency of eating disorders when Senators Tom Harkin, Amy Klobuchar, and Al Franken introduced the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders (FREED) Act today.

“The FREED Act is the first legislative effort in the history of the Senate to comprehensively confront the seriousness and deadly threat of eating disorders in the United States. We are proud to have Senators Harkin, Klobuchar and Franken champion our cause,” said Jeanine Cogan, Policy Director of the Eating Disorders Coalition.

A coordinated national response like the FREED Act can help the millions of Americans suffering (and, too often, dying) from eating disorders.

“It has been ten years since anorexia killed my daughter Anna,” said EDC Board Member Kitty Westin. “And eating disorders have killed thousands of Americans since then. It’s time for Congress to pass the FREED Act as a critical first step in addressing this national emergency.”

Eating disorders do not discriminate: men and women, all economic classes, old and young are affected. Sadly, eating disorders even touch young children. According to a recent report in the December issue of PEDIATRICS, Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, hospitalizations for children with eating disorders under age 12 increased by a shocking 119% for the years 1999 to 2006.

The FREED Act would fund much needed research to better understand eating disorders and provides solutions for prevention, education, screening, diagnosis and treatment. Among other things, the legislation would fund grants to conduct research on treatment efficacy, train health professionals and school personnel to identify and respond to eating disorders, and build on existing reform efforts to ensure that treatment is available to those who need it.

Ten months ago, two days before she was to join the Eating Disorders Coalition citizen lobbying effort on Capitol Hill, a young woman from Pennsylvania named Nicole died in her sleep from her eating disorder. Nicole’s mother sadly states, “If the FREED Act was in place, I might still have my daughter with me today.” Nicole’s aunt, Wendy Bloom, added, “The FREED Act will stop the endless pain for millions of people. It will allow treatment for a disease without the fear of not completing their treatment because their insurance doesn't cover it. It will end the torment and pain of another mother burying her child because she couldn't afford treatment.”

This legislation is important to be passed just like my bill in the house. This article from the Eating Disorder Coalition for Research show peoples turn comments on how important this bill is to America. Also it has good stats on children with eating disorders which is key for my bill.

Other bills are related to topic

HB 1432 added Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia to the list of mental illnesses covered by the Illinois parity law. The bill was passed in 2008 and became effective January 1, 2009.

H.R.1448 - Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders Act of 2011

Passed Senate Bill 2354 requires the state Health Department to establish a program to assist in early recognition and intervention of eating disorders.

These are some other bills that a similar to my bill. The first and the last bill are already passed while the other one I will give more information on in later post.

Miss America to address eating disorders in Ill.

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan will host the 8th annual candlelight vigil for eating disorders at the Healing Garden of Linden Oaks at Edward in Naperville May 16. The 18-year-old Scanlan, from Nebraska, was 17 when she was crowned. She is the youngest winner since the first pageant in 1921. She chose eating disorders as her platform issue after learning how widespread they are in the U.S. while doing research for a friend who had bulimia. Scanlan's goal is to educate people about the signs and risks of eating disorders and how to get help. Linden Oaks at Edward and the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders will sponsor the event. The open event aims at motivating and encouraging recovery and providing family support.

I think this is a great idea. I am glad she picked eating disorders as her platform. I wish she would talk to my sponsor for the bill since Rep. Judy Biggert is from Ill. I wonder is she is attending the candlelight vigil. I wish I lived closer so that I could attend.

Section 6 of H.R. 36.

 

Rosen, D. S. (2010). Clinical Report—Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics, 126(6), 1240-1253. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2821

 

The incidence and prevalence of eating disorders in children and adolescents has increased significantly in recent decades, making it essential for pediatricians to consider these disorders in appropriate clinical settings, to evaluate patients suspected of having these disorders, and to manage (or refer) patients in whom eating disorders are diagnosed. This clinical report includes a discussion of diagnostic criteria and outlines the initial evaluation of the patient with disordered eating. Medical complications of eating disorders may affect any organ system, and careful monitoring for these complications is required. The range of treatment options, including pharmacotherapy, is described in this report. Pediatricians are encouraged to advocate for legislation and policies that ensure appropriate services for patients with eating disorders, including medical care, nutritional intervention, mental health treatment, and care coordination.

 

This is why we need H.R. 36 to be passed to do this:

 

SEC. 6. EATING DISORDER RESEARCH AND REPORT.

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics shall conduct a study on the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement. The study shall--

(1) determine the prevalence of eating disorders among students and the morbidity and mortality rates associated with eating disorders;

(2) evaluate the extent to which students with eating disorders are more likely to miss school, have delayed rates of development, or have reduced cognitive skills;

(3) report on current State and local programs to educate youth about the dangers of eating disorders, as well as evaluate the value of such programs; and

(4) make recommendations on measures that could be undertaken by the Congress, the Secretary of Education, States, and local educational agencies to strengthen eating disorder prevention and awareness programs.

This would be monumental to find this research in schools because eating disorders are so taboo. It is very hard to determine is people have eating disorders. I think this research could help a lot of children and help to continues awareness of eating disorders in school age children.

Eating Disorders News

Today I was looking at the latest news on eating disorders and found a very interesting article in the Medical News Toady website. The article was about the relationship of being born in the spring would more likely to have anorexia. I am going to post the article under my opinion here so that you can draw your own opinions about the topic. I think that it is a little weird that they would find this relationship and publish research about it. I personally think it is a little bizarre.

Here is the article:

Anorexia More Likely To Affect Those Born In Spring

If you were born in the spring, your chances of subsequently developing anorexia are greater, researchers from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, revealed in the British Journal of Psychiatry. According to the authors, theirs is the "largest study to date" and provides compelling evidence of a link between spring births and anorexia risk.

Dr Lahiru Handunnetthi and team gathered data including birth dates of 1,293 individuals who had been diagnosed with anorexia. They discovered that a disproportionately high number of patients (15% excess) were born between March and June, for every seven anorexia cases expected, there were eight. They also found fewer-than-expected births in September/October (20% deficit).

The researchers explain that previous studies had indicated a risk between developing an eating disorder and when the person is born. However, they were small studies involving few people - making it difficult to come to any conclusions.

Dr Handunnetthi said:

"We meta-analysed four cohorts of anorexia nervosa patients from the UK, making this the largest ever study to assess the presence of a season of birth effect in anorexia. We found that susceptibility to anorexia nervosa is significantly influenced by a person's season of birth, being higher in those people born in the spring and lower in those born in the autumn.

A number of previous studies have found that mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression are more common among those born in the spring - so this finding in anorexia is perhaps not surprising. However, our study only provides evidence of an association. Now we need more research to identify which factors are putting people at particular risk."

The scientists say that perhaps environmental factors which are present when conception occurs, or during fetal development in the uterus, may have an impact.

Dr Handunnetthi said:

"Seasonal changes in temperature, sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels, maternal nutrition and exposure to infections are all possible risk factors. Identifying these risk factors is important in helping us understand and maybe even prevent illness in future."

"Season of birth and anorexia nervosa"
Giulio Disanto, MD, Adam E. Handel, BMBCh and Andrea E. Para, MSc
bjp.bp.110.085944v1

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today

Blog Post 2!

I commented on another blog! I really enjoy reading other peoples blogs about eating disorders. They are very inspirational and really out there with eating disorders awareness and education. This blog is on Physiology Today and the Blog is called "Body of Evidence" by Carrie Arnold. She has her another blog on blog spot that is more personal. This blog she recently got hired to write about the science of eating disorders. So far it is very informational and is going to be amazing at help the getting important information out to the population about eating disorders.

Therefore this is what I posted on Carrie Arnold's blog:
First off I want to congratulate you on your new blog! I think it is off to a wonderful start. I am a graduate student at Eastern Kentucky University’s Community Nutrition Program. I have been following your blog since the beginning of the semester. When I found out you were starting this blog I got very excited. I really enjoy your blog and I have to say I am a fan. I love your story and it is very inspirational. As a project this semester I started a blog. I decided that I wanted my blog to about eating disorders and the passing of bill H.R. 36 Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011. This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of innovative assistance funds for programs to: (1) improve identification of students with eating disorders; (2) increase awareness of such disorders among parents and students; and (3) train educators with respect to effective eating disorder prevention and assistance methods. I chose this topic because my sister suffered with an eating disorder and I feel as though no one wants to talk about eating disorders. I love your blog and I think that this blog is going to be very helpful in eating disorder education. Thank you for all you do for the fight against eating disorders!

Class!!

Yesterday in my NFA 717 class we talked about eating disorders, which was really interesting! Dr. Wilson had a really good power point presentation that was really good to go along with the class.
Here is some information from it that I thought was interesting:

• Normal eating is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied.  It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it – not just stop eating because you think you should. Normal eating is being able to use some moderate constraint on your food selection to get the right food, but not being so restrictive that you miss out on pleasurable foods. 

• Disordered eating- A wide spectrum of harmful and often ineffective eating behaviors used in attempts to lose weight or achieve a lean appearance.  The spectrum of behaviors ranges in severity from restricting food intake, to binging and purging, to the DSM-IV defined disorders of AN and BN. 
• ED are difficult to overcome, even with timely and effective treatment.  Treatment involves not only changing how the patient eats, it also involves changing many other behaviors.  Even more important and difficult, the patient must change how he/she thinks and manages his/her emotional life without resorting to symptoms related to eating, food, or weight.  Not everyone will get well.  Some will suffer serious medical problems; some will die.
•  Prevention  •De-emphasize weight/body image (appropriate assessment/recommendations)•Emphasize health and nutrition (modeling)•Focus on performance to get the attention of coaches and athletes.  #1 contributor to performance (after genetics) is good health; nutrition is #1 contributor to good health.  Components of performance sports diet.

I really liked this class and thought that it was a very useful powerpoint which I could use later on in my career.
 

Cosponsor!

On April 11, 2011 there was something new on my bill. I have a cosponsor!!!

The new cosponsor is:
Rep. Lloyd Doggett [D-TX25]
U.S. Representative, Texas’s 25^th District

This feed includes activity on Doggett’s sponsored legislation, new YouTube videos, and speeches on the floor. Preview Feed > Personalize your Tracked Events page by selecting trackers. This tracker adds the feed above and how Doggett votes when you are also tracking bills or one of the votes feeds. You are not logged in to an account. Why sign up? When you sign up, your trackers are stored permanently and you can access them from any computer. Otherwise they are stored in a "cookie" on your computer and could get erased. When you are signed in, your personal tracked events RSS feed will update with your tracker settings, and you can get email updates on tracked events sent to you automatically. Log In | Sign Up (for free) Make a widget for this tracker to display on your web page. This feed includes how Doggett voted on every vote. Preview Feed > Personalize your Tracked Events page by selecting trackers. You are not logged in to an account. Why sign up? When you sign up, your trackers are stored permanently and you can access them from any computer. Otherwise they are stored in a "cookie" on your computer and could get erased. When you are signed in, your personal tracked events RSS feed will update with your tracker settings, and you can get email updates on tracked events sent to you automatically. Log In | Sign Up (for free) Make a widget for this tracker to display on your web page.

State: Texas  District: 25th Congressional District  Party: Democrat

Letter to Sponsor

I still have not heard anything from my sponsor, which makes me sad. That is another thing I want to change. I think that senator and representatives should talk to people other then just the people that vote for them. This topic is really important to me and it would be incredibly beneficial to be able to talk to her. I could learn more about the issue and the likelihood of it passing. I also could learn if I could do anything more to help the cause.

Letter to Sponsor

This is what I am sent in the mail to the sponsor of my bill:

Dr. Representative Judy Biggert,

I am a graduate student in community nutrition at Eastern Kentucky University. I currently have a blog on blogspot.com about eating disorders. I am very passionate bout the bill H.R. 36 Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011. I am working on my blog to help advocate this bill. I would really like to get you thoughts on this bill and would like to talk to you about the past struggle to try to get this bill passed. I would really like for this bill to be brought up in Kentucky. I know that you usually do not have time to respond to non-constituents but I hold this topic very near and dear to my heart. I would really like to know your thoughts on this bill and if I could do anything to help you in the passage of this bill

Sincerely,

Amanda Harden

Similar legistlation in Adcoacy!

While working on my educational portfolio, I found that the Eating Disorders Coalition is working on getting bills passed as well. I am thinking about writing them for my blog to see if they could also push for my bill. Much of their energy is now dedicated to passing the Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders ACT (FREED, H.R. 1193), the first ever comprehensive eating disorders bill in the history of Congress, and they need support to pass it during the 111th Congress.

 What does this bill intail?

2/25/2009--Introduced.Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to take certain actions regarding eating disorder research, including to:
(1) implement a scientifically justified budget for research on eating disorders;
(2) coordinate and evaluate NIH research activities and programs;
(3) expand NIH research on eating disorders;
(4) establish a task force on eating disorder research; and
(5) provide for centers of excellence for research on eating disorders. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to:
(1) provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of epidemiological data on eating disorders;
(2) establish a Center of Eating Disorders Epidemiology to collect and analyze information on eating disorders; and
(3) establish a CDC clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated under this Act. Sets forth provisions providing for education and training on eating disorders, including requirements for:
(1) developing and implementing a training program for health professionals on eating disorders;
(2) establishing the Task Force on Eating Disorders Prevention in Educational Institutions to develop and provide training on eating disorders identification and prevention for students, faculty, coaches, and staff in schools; and
(3) conducting public service announcements. Amends the PHSA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to also provide coverage for eating disorders. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program.

Looks Are More Important To Girls Than Life Latest Survey Suggests

I found this article in the news about the way women perceive themselves. The statistics are mind blowing. 1 in 2 women were disappointed with their body. There really does need to be more awareness out there to prevent eating disorders. This article definitely supports that with the way women think about their bodies.



30% of women would trade at least one year of their life to achieve their ideal body weight and shape. Latest research conducted for new eating disorder charity The Succeed Foundation, in partnership with the University of the West of England (UWE), also found that in order to achieve their ideal body weight and shape:

• 16% would trade 1 year of their life
• 10% would trade 2-5 years of their life
• 2% would trade 6-10 years of their life
• 1% would trade 21 years or more of their life

The survey conducted at British Universities by Dr Phillippa Diedrichs also discovered that in order to achieve their ideal body weight and shape 26% of the women surveyed were willing to sacrifice at least one of the following:

• £5000 from their annual salary (13%)
• A promotion at work (8%)
• Achieving a first class honours degree (6%)
• Spending time with their partner (9%)
• Spending time with their family (7%)
• Spending time with their friends (9%)
• Their health (7%)

The survey results suggest that body dissatisfaction was common among the women surveyed, with 1 in 2 women saying that more needs to be done on their university campus to promote healthy body image.

• 46% of the women surveyed have been ridiculed or bullied because of their appearance.
• 39% of the women surveyed reported that if money wasn't a concern they would have cosmetic surgery to alter their appearance. Of the 39% who said they would have cosmetic surgery, 76% desired multiple surgical procedures. 5% of the women surveyed have already had cosmetic surgery to alter their appearance.
• 79% of the women surveyed reported that they would like to lose weight, despite the fact that the majority of the women sampled (78.37%) were actually within the underweight or 'normal' weight ranges. Only 3% said that they would like to gain weight.
• 93% of the women surveyed reported that they had had negative thoughts about their appearance during the past week. 31% had negative thoughts several times a day.
• When asked which celebrity has the perfect body Kelly Brook came top of the list.

Notes

320 women studying at 20 British universities completed The Succeed Foundation Body Image Survey in March 2011. Age Breakdown: Range 18-65 years. Average age= 24.49 years.

In response to the fact that it is common for women attending universities to have body image issues, on April 2nd and 3rd 2011, The Succeed Foundation is launching The Succeed Body Image Programme in UK universities. This is a scientifically supported programme that aims to improve body image and prevent the onset of eating disorders.

The Succeed Foundation was founded in 2010 by Karine Berthou, with the mission of raising awareness and providing support for those affected by eating disorders. The aim is to introduce new programmes and fresh research to halve the average recovery time of sufferers; by creating networks, delivering programmes and adapting new technologies in prevention, education and coaching. All programmes or projects are scientifically supported and easily replicable, enabling availability to the widest number possible.

Source
The Succeed Foundation

Current Status Of House Bill H.R. 36

This is the current status of my bill. It is same as the last time I checked the progress of it. I am starting to worry that this bill is not going to pass because as I listed earlier this type of bill has been introduced before and all of them end where this bill is sitting right now. I feel as we need to do more then what we have been doing in the past for this bill because it is obviously not working.

 

Bill Actions

Jan. 31, 2011	Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Jan. 31, 2011	Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Jan. 4, 2011	Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Jan. 4, 2011	Referred to House Education and the Workforce
Jan. 4, 2011	Referred to House Energy and Commerce

Blog Post!!!

Harriet Brown's Blog "Feed Me" which I said I posted on earlier was great!!! She posted my comment on her blog and asked me to send her a link to my blog!! It was really exciting because I really look up to her and I think her book and blog are amazing!

Anonymous said...

Harriet, I love you blog!!! I think that everyone know at least one person in their life who has an eating disorder. So many times people are hush hush about the subject but I agree with you. It is time to talk about eating disorders. We need to bring them out into the open. Let people know that they are not alone in their fight with their disorder. I currently have a blog that I am working on for graduate work that is about bill H.R. 36 which is awareness and prevention of eating disorders. I am really passionate about this subject and would love to get this bill passed. Thank you so much for everything you do in the effort for eating disorders.

3/02/2011

Harriet said...

Thanks, Anon. Send me a link to your blog!

3/03/2011

Related Legislation

Other Legislation with the Same Title

The list below shows legislation in this and previous sessions of Congress that had the same title as this bill. Often bills are incorporated into other omnibus bills, and you may be able to track the status of provisions of this bill by looking for an omnibus bill below. Note that bills may have multiple titles.

111th Congress: H.R. 26Dead
110th Congress: H.R. 88Dead
109th Congress: H.R. 49Dead
108th Congress: H.R. 873Dead
107th Congress: H.R. 46Dead
106th Congress: H.R. 3928Dead


I am very discouraged by this past record of legislation. This does not make me feel good about the future process for my bill. On an optimistic outlook they are committed to getting this bill passed!

Bill H.R. 26

Sponsor:
Rep. Judy Biggert [R-IL13]show cosponsors (1)
Text:
Summary | Full Text
Status:
Introduced Jan 6, 2009
Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments
Reported by Committee (did not occur)
House Vote (did not occur)
Senate Vote (did not occur)
Signed by President (did not occur)
This bill never became law. This bill was proposed in a previous session of Congress. Sessions of Congress last two years, and at the end of each session all proposed bills and resolutions that haven't passed are cleared from the books. Members often reintroduce bills that did not come up for debate under a new number in the next session.
Last Action:
Mar 6, 2009: House Education and Labor: Referred to the Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities.

This makes me nervous see how this bill ended. I really hope this does not foreshadow the actions of my bill. So my bill H.R. 36 was reintroduced because it did not come up for debate in the years passed. I am hoping that it comes up this year and the committee passes the bill on. It is about time!

Accidental Information

After searching for more information on my bill, I accidetnially ran across an earlier version of my bill which is H.R. 26 and it came up in 2009.

H.R. 26:
Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2009
111th Congress
2009-2010

Purpose:
To amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to raise awareness of eating disorders and to create educational programs concerning the same, and for other purposes.

It was basically the same bill.

I am searching to see what happened to this bill and looking to see if there are any other bills related to mine the were introduced earlier then this bill.

Good News?!

I just found the my sponsor of my bill tweeted on congress-tweet:
“Good news: The House passed the short-term CR with $4 billion in cuts, and Reid has agreed to get it passed in the Senate..”

(Mar 1, 2011)

I think CR is corporate responsibility.  Therefore I think my bill is going to be passed to the Senate!!! YAY!!

What I plan on!!

My next move is to try to email my bills sponsor which is:

Rep. Judy Biggert [R-IL13]

U.S. Representative, Illinois’s 13^th District

State:	Illinois [map]
District:	13th Congressional District [map]
Party:	Republican
Birthday:	Aug 15, 1937 / 73 years old

I plan on emailing her over spring break and see if I get any response. I am really excited about it but I hope i sounds like I know what I am talking about!!

Blog Post!!

I finally did it!! I posted on Feed ME!! I commented on Harriet Brown's blog today, but it will not actually go up on her blog until she approves what I commented about. I am hoping she checks her blog soon. I also hope that she sends a little feedback to the little people like me!! I think that she is a very smart woman and is very knowledgeable on eating disorders. I mentioned my bill. I think she would be a great person to get involved in the push for my bill. I will post what I posted word for word later and with any feed back she gives me!!

Why this is important to ME!!

I love Harriet Brown's Blog called "Feed Me!". She is a published author who wrote a book about a girl with an eating disorder called brave girl eating. It talks about a families struggle with anorexia. I would really love to read this book. So often we think that it is just the person with the eating disorders problem but it is a struggle for the whole family. I can attest to it. Someone in my family struggle with bulimia. For so long we had no clue that there was anything wrong with my family member. Once you find out you start to think how could you have missed it? That person of your family had been sick all this time and not for one second did you notice that anything was not right. Then once it is time for the person fighting with the eating disorder to fight it is a whole family struggle because they need support to get through and turn their life around. This is why this subject is so important to me. We need to get awareness, prevention, and treatment out to the general public. I think that if I would have known more about bulimia could I have noticed the signs and symptoms to help my family member.

Eating Disorder Awareness

Last week was the National Eating Disorder Awareness week!!

The mission of NEDAwareness Week

The aim of NEDAwareness Week is to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues while reducing the stigma surrounding eating disorders and improving access to treatment. Eating disorders are serious, life-threatening illnesses — not choices — and it’s important to recognize the pressures, attitudes and behaviors that shape the disorder.
NEDAwareness Week is a collective effort of primarily volunteers, including eating disorder professionals, health care providers, students, educators, social workers, and individuals committed to raising awareness of the dangers surrounding eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment.

2011 Theme: It’s Time to Talk about It

This year the National Eating Disorders Association is stressing that it’s time to talk about
eating disorders. We live in a culture saturated with unrealistic body-image messages and
almost all of us know somebody struggling with an eating disorder. Because this is true, we
urge you to talk about it......and do just one thing during NEDAwareness Week to 

1) raiseawareness that eating disorders are serious illnesses, not lifestyle choices; 

2) provide accurate information to medical, educational and/or business communities, and 

3) direct people to information and resources about eating disorders.

On their site they said that the week went really well!! I think where it says that we live in a culture that has a unrealistic body-image is very true. It really hits home about everyone probably knows someone who has had a eating disorder. I have had many friends who struggled with their weight and eating disorders. I often think that eating disorders get over look many times because of the obesity epidemic. So many people suffer from these disorders and we do need to talk about them and bring them to the forefront.

Blog!!!

I found a blog similar to mine called Feed Me!!

I plan on posting to her blog soon. The blog is on talking about food, eating, body image, and weight.
She is an author of many books her recent one was called Brave Girl Eating. The book is about a families struggle with anorexia. she has a lot of good awareness of eating disorders. This blog could be very helpful and informative for my bill. I have started following her blog and I am going to post on her blog with in the week.

Latest Action

Latest Major Action: 2/1/2011: Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.

I have a feeling my bill is going to be in committee for a while. I hope they pass my bill on. I am working on emailing the bills sponsor to find out more information about the bill and how she thinks the bill is doing right now.

Bill Progess

There has been no activity on the bill since Jan. 5. It is still being reffered to the commitees. I would really like to see more progress beucase I am really passionate about his bill.

EATING DISORDER RESEARCH AND REPORT

Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics shall conduct a study on the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement. The study shall--

(1) determine the prevalence of eating disorders among students and the morbidity and mortality rates associated with eating disorders;

(2) evaluate the extent to which students with eating disorders are more likely to miss school, have delayed rates of development, or have reduced cognitive skills;

(3) report on current State and local programs to educate youth about the dangers of eating disorders, as well as evaluate the value of such programs; and

(4) make recommendations on measures that could be undertaken by the Congress, the Secretary of Education, States, and local educational agencies to strengthen eating disorder prevention and awareness programs.

• This reseasrch would be very benefical to see the current statistics in school.

Bill Status

So far my bill was introduced to the House on January the 5th. Right now it is being referred to committee. 
The bill has been referred to the following committees:

House Education and the Workforce

House Energy and Commerce

House Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health

 

Committees deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee. I really hope this bill makes it out of committee.

Section 2 findings on H.R. 36.

After more research on the bill I found that:

(1) An estimated 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 women and girls and 1,000,000 men and boys suffer from eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well as eating disorders that are not otherwise defined.

(2) Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss.

(3) An estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of American women will suffer from anorexia nervosa in their lifetime.

(4) Anorexia nervosa is associated with serious health consequences including heart failure, kidney failure, osteoporosis, and death.

(5) Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders. A young woman is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without anorexia.

(6) Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by excessive food consumption followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, or excessive exercise.

(7) Bulimia nervosa is common: An estimated 1.1 to 4.2 percent of American women will suffer from this disorder in their lifetime.

(8) Bulimia nervosa is associated with cardiac, gastrointestinal, and dental problems including irregular heartbeats, gastric rupture, peptic ulcer, and tooth decay.

(9) Binge eating disorder is characterized by frequent episodes of uncontrolled overeating.

(10) Binge eating disorder is common: An estimated 2 to 5 percent of Americans experience this disorder in a 6-month period.

(11) Binge eating is associated with obesity, heart disease, gall bladder disease, and diabetes.

(12) Eating disorders usually appear in adolescence and are associated with substantial psychological problems, including depression, substance abuse, and suicide.

(13) Forty-two percent of 1st through 3d grade girls want to be thinner, and 81 percent of 10-year-old children are afraid of being fat.

(14) Thirty-five percent of dieters progress to pathological dieting, and 20 to 25 percent of these individuals progress to partial or full syndrome eating disorders.

(15) Eating disorders can lead to death. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 10 people with anorexia nervosa will die of starvation, cardiac arrest, or other medical complications.

(16) Eating disorders can have a negative impact on the educational advancement of a student, a situation often overlooked and rarely addressed in the Nation's schools.

(17) Educational efforts to prevent eating disorders are of primary importance to the health, well being, and academic success of the Nation's students.

(18) Females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder. An estimated 5 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35 percent of people with binge eating disorder are male.
 
Number 13 shocked me!! I can't believe that1st to 3rd graders are thinking about their weight. They should be worried about what the next toy they are going to get or worry about learning about to write not about their body image. 81% of 10 year children are afraid of being fat. Children should not have to worry about getting fat. They should be worried about playing outside. There reports really concern me. Are we taking away our children childhoods because if the obesity epidemic?

Introductory Summary

The bill I chose was H.R.36.
Latest Title: Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011
Sponsor: Rep Biggert, Judy [IL-13] (introduced 1/5/2011)      Cosponsors (None)
Latest Major Action: 1/5/2011 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of innovative assistance funds for programs to: (1) improve identification of students with eating disorders; (2) increase awareness of such disorders among parents and students; and (3) train educators with respect to effective eating disorder prevention and assistance methods.
Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to broadcast public service announcements to improve public awareness, and to promote the identification and prevention, of eating disorders.
Requires the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics to: (1) study the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement; (2) report on current state and local programs to educate youth on the dangers of eating disorders; and (3) recommend federal, state, and local measures that could be undertaken.