National Eating Disorder Association walk hopes to bring light to a prevalent disorders
Thirty-million individuals of all ages, race and sizes are afflicted with eating disorders.
Shelby Miller, a South Lyon senior, is trying to bring light to a cause near and dear to her heart.
The second annual National Eating Disorder Association walk is set to take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at Chipp-A-Waters Park.
The walk is aimed to raise funds for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, in addition to raising awareness for the disorders themselves.
Martin, who is the principle organizer of the event, said the only other NEDA walk was located in Ann Arbor last year. Wanting to attend, she decided to host one herself.
“I think a lot of people are under the assumption that an eating disorder is something solely like starving yourself, that would be anorexia, but there’s actually lots of different kinds,” Martin said.
The NEDA official website states a plethora of eating disorders currently exist and are recognized by the scientific community. They vary from binge eating and self-induced vomiting, bulimia, to the consistent consumption of non-food items, pica.
Contrary to popular conception, millions of American males also suffer from eating disorders. The NEDA states a conservative estimate indicates approximately 10 percent of all eating disorders are found in males.
In addition to the walk itself, festivities including yoga and keynote speakers will be at the event.
To date, 35 individuals have officially registered for the activities, while Martin anticipates anywhere from 50-75 will participate in the walk in total.
“When I saw they were having a NEDA walk in Mount Pleasant, I immediately signed up for it,” Tori Saylor said.
The Jackson junior said she joined the event as she has personally struggled with an eating disorder.
Saylor said she was excited at the prospect of being allowed to operate within a positive community at the walk.
“I think (eating disorders) are an extremely important topic, that’s also pretty taboo, that people don’t want to talk about,” Saylor said. “Events like these create a safe space for those with eating disorders to come talk and find support.”
$2,200 has been raised by business sponsors on behalf of the NEDA, solely from the event.
“It has been a lot of work this summer studying for the GRE and organizing this event,” Martin said. “Thankfully, the community here in Mount Pleasant has really stepped up for the walk.”
Martin said organizing the walk by herself required a large amount of work, including 10 hours a week of contacting businesses and sponsors to pay for items such as t-shirts, raffle items and supplies.
“It has been interesting (organizing the event as a student), to put together this benefit and walk took a lot of work from finding things like sponsorships to trying to get the word out in a small town.” Martin said.
