Eating Disorder Awareness Week: It’s Not About the Food
Eating Disorder Awareness Week is not just about statistics.
It’s about our daughters.
Our loved ones.
Our students.
Our friends.
Ourselves.
Behind every number is a young woman who once believed she wasn’t enough.
And contrary to what many assume, eating disorders do not begin with food.
They begin with shame.
With silence.
With comparison.
With the quiet belief that worth is conditional.
How It Starts
No one wakes up one morning deciding to develop an eating disorder.
It starts subtly.
A comment about weight.
A compliment for shrinking.
A diet framed as “discipline.”
A girl who learns that control earns praise.
A child who absorbs that appearance is currency.
We are raising children in a world saturated with appearance ideals, diet culture, filters, algorithms, and constant comparison. Even in communities grounded in strong values, our girls are not immune. They are breathing the same cultural air.
We cannot simply tell them to “ignore it.”
We must actively equip them.
Prevention is not passive. It is intentional.
What We Must Teach Instead
If eating disorders grow from shame and conditional worth, then prevention must build something stronger.
We must teach our children:
That emotions are not emergencies. Feeling something does not mean you must fix it, numb it, or control it.
That self-compassion is strength, not self-indulgence. Research consistently shows that self-compassion is associated with lower body dissatisfaction, reduced eating disorder risk, and greater emotional resilience.
That dignity is not dependent on size.
That their value is inherent — given by Hashem, not earned by shrinking.
When a girl believes her worth fluctuates with the scale, she is vulnerable.
When she knows her worth is intrinsic, she is anchored.
What the Research Tells Us
We are fortunate today to have strong empirical evidence about prevention.
Programs that challenge thin-ideal messaging, teach media literacy, build emotional regulation skills, and help girls critically examine cultural pressures significantly reduce risk factors for eating disorders. When girls learn to identify distorted messages and develop internal resilience, symptoms decrease and long-term risk drops.
Prevention works when we:
Challenge harmful appearance-based narratives.
Reduce weight-based talk in homes and schools.
Teach emotional literacy and regulation.
Strengthen identity beyond appearance.
Create environments where girls feel safe to be fully human — not curated versions of themselves.
This is not theoretical. It is measurable.
And it is deeply aligned with our values.
What Torah Has Always Known
Long before research confirmed it, Torah taught it.
Every person is created b’tzelem Elokim.
Not b’tzelem Elokim at a certain size.
Not b’tzelem Elokim after achieving a certain look.
Not b’tzelem Elokim once they “fix” themselves.
Inherent. Sacred. Whole.
That truth alone dismantles the lie that anyone must change their shape to deserve space.
Our bodies are not ornaments. They are vessels for mitzvot, for connection, for learning, for kindness, for impact. From every heartbeat to every breath, they enable us to live our purpose.
When we reduce them to projects to perfect, we lose something essential.
Moving Beyond Awareness
This week, let’s move beyond awareness.
Awareness is important — but it is not enough.
Let’s change the conversations in our homes.
Let’s stop weight talk at the table.
Let’s refrain from commenting on people’s sizes — even as compliments.
Let’s model self-respect in how we speak about ourselves.
Let’s notice the quiet struggler.
Let’s intervene early when something feels off.
Prevention is not about stricter food rules.
It is not about fear-based nutrition.
It is not about micromanaging plates.
It is about building resilient, compassionate, grounded young women who know who they are — and whose worth does not fluctuate with their reflection.
And that work does not start with them.
It starts with us.
With the messages we model.
With the conversations we allow.
With the dignity we extend — to them and to ourselves.
Because when a girl knows her worth is not conditional, she does not need to shrink to feel safe in the world.
And that is the kind of protection that lasts.
