Although English teacher Kristina Gossard, an advocate for eating disorder and body image awareness, had to step down from coordinating Gunn’s first National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, the events still went forward.

The first event occurred on Tuesday Feb. 24 at lunch in V-7 and the school invited National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) member Nan Dellheim to speak about the role of body image in society. Dellheim showed Body Talk, an educational documentary of students who had struggled with eating and body image disorders, created by an organization called The Body Project.

“The documentary is worth watching, and it’s helpful to hear about the experiences of students your own age because these are the people who you come in contact with everyday,” Dellheim said. “You could have a family member, a close friend or even just someone in your class that is struggling with an eating disorder, and you would never know what they were going through if you didn’t understand the seriousness of their situation.”

Among the students and staff members at the first event was sophomore Audrey Ho. She had watched eating disorder and body image videos before, but she described Body Talk as extremely moving. “I wish everyone in the school could have seen the documentary and heard what all these teens were putting themselves through and how scary and real eating and body image issues are,” Ho said. “This one girl in the video talked about how she had to be rushed to the emergency room a bunch of times because she would starve herself in order to make herself look skinny. It was really sad.”

Dellheim also handed out articles written by members of NEDA. One article offered strategies to help friends with eating disorders become healthy again. The article advises students not to wait until their situation is so severe that the friend’s life is in danger, and to support them and be as understanding as possible. It also encourages students to know the differences between facts and myths about weight, nutrition and exercise, and to be a good role model in regard to sensible eating, exercise and self-acceptance.

Dellheim came back to speak about the resources at NEDA and body image that night in the library. Medical professionals Carol Dietrich and Dr. Cynthia Kapphahn also spoke. Dietrich discussed the causes of eating disorders from a psychological perspective. “I think what seemed shocking to a lot of people is that she really went in to how none of it was ever about food but rather a greater problem in their life, and how it was just manifesting itself through the control of food,” English teacher Diane Ichikawa, who helped run the week, said.

Dr. Kapphahn spoke about medical complications of eating disorders, and how often times people do not receive proper medical coverage. She also introduced available services through Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital. “There were different kinds of treatments mentioned, both psychological and medical,” Ichikawa said.

While the events scheduled for the following two days were cancelled, students were asked to wear jeans on Friday to show their support and to inspire others to be “comfortable in their own genes.”