There are a number of common misunderstandings about eating disorders, but perhaps the most pervasive is that they only affect a select group of people — thin women.
That belief is far from accurate: Eating disorders don’t discriminate based on size, gender, race or any other demographic categorization.
An estimated 30 million American adults live with an eating disorder. It’s also the most fatal mental health condition: An average of at least one person dies as a direct result of an eating disorder every 62 minutes, according to research. The condition can be incorrectly or insensitively portrayed in pop culture and the media, contributing to stigma and confusion.
Everyone can stand to be more educated when it comes eating disorders. In honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, we rounded up some tweets that offer encouragement or tackle the misconceptions surrounding eating disorders. File these under “required reading.”
If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.