In the United States, approximately 5-10 million females and one million males meet the diagnostic criteria for an Eating Disorder (Mintle, 2011).

“Eating disorders (ED) are sometimes described as an alternate personality that becomes more entrenched the longer it is allowed to function within the individual. In some respects this is true, as an individual is more likely to recover completely from an ED if effective treatment is started while the ED is still developing or the individual has not had the disorder for long.”-Southwest Michigan Eating Disorder Association (SMEDA)

Below are resources to assist in the diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and awareness of eating disorders:

• Southwest Michigan Eating Disorders Association is focused on treatment and education surrounding eating disorders. They believe it takes a variety of care providers in multiple settings to help those who suffer from an eating disorder. their approach is focused on multiple providers communicating together for the benefit of the patient. To learn more click here: www.swmichiganeatingdisorders.org
• National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the leading non-profit organization in the United States advocating on behalf of and supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. Click here to exlpore their website: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
• Forest View Hospital (Grand Rapids, MI): “Forest View's professional reputation has been developed through 18 years of experience in the treatment of Eating Disorders. Forest View provides services for children, adolescents and adults struggling with anorexia nervosa (self-starvation) and bulimia nervosa (binge-purge syndrome).” For more information visit: http://forestviewhospital.com/support-groups-resources/
• The Victorian of Newport Beach (Newport Beach, CA): A six bed intensive-care facility: www.eatingdisordertreatment.com. Check out their list of resources - including information on diagnosis here: http://montecatini.crchealth.com/resources/
• Maudsley Parents (for parents or supportive adults) offer information on eating disorders and family-based treatment, family stories of recovery, supportive parent-to-parent advice, and treatment information for families who opt for family-based Maudsley treatment. To learn more, click here: maudsleyparents.org
• F.E.A.S.T. is geared toward educating parents or supportive adults, clinicians, and the community on eating disorders. F.E.A.S.T.’s Mission is to support caregivers by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders. Check out their website here: www.feast-ed.org
• Academy for Eating Disorders is more suited for professionals as it provides an avenue for sharing publication, request for proposals (RFP's), abstract submissions, and other research opportunities surrounding eating disorders. To learn more and to find research on eating disorders, click here: www.aedweb.org
• Bulimia.com houses information and treatment options to men and women suffering from anorexia, bulimia, and other types of eating disorders. In addition, they outline how to choose a program based on your needs. Find out more here: www.bulimia.com
• Finding the Best Anorexia, Bulimia and Eating Disorder Treatment for Men is found on Bulimia.com and goes over the various options specifically for men: http://www.bulimia.com/topics/men/
• Something Fishy is a long standing online resource that provides valuable information on Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder and Compulsive Overeating, but online peer support forums and a large treatment finder. Find a therapist near you! Click here to expore: www.something-fishy.com
• Proud2bme provides a platform for sharing stories and discussion topics surrounding eating disorders and body image. Proud2Bme also provides a resource on raising awareness at college campuses. To learn more click here: www.proud2bme.org
• National Eating Disorder Information Centre attempts to de-mystify issues relating to dieting, food, weight concerns, shape concerns, self-esteem and body image. To learn about the stigmatization of eating disorders, check out this link: http://nedic.ca/sites/default/files/files/StigmatizationOfEatingDisorders.pdf. To check out the home page, click here: www.nedic.ca
• About Face equips women & girls with tools to understand & resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem & body image. With a youth friendly website, About Face provides Education into Action media-literacy workshops, in depth multi-session media-literacy programs, a strong social media presence, and speaking engagements. You can also learn about companies who support healthy body image and download a wallet card here: http://www.about-face.org/educate-yourself/wallet-card/. To learn more and visit the About Face homepage click here: www.about-face.org/
• The Renfrew Center provides many inpatient and outpatient services indluding day treatment. While there are no locations in Michigan, many are on the East Coast as well as Georgia or Flordia. They also provide information on their nutrition and experential therepy prgorams. Learn more here: www.renfrewcenter.com
• National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders has a number of great resources including information on eating disorders, a list of links to many other organizations for support for eating disorders, and school outreach toolkit and guidelines: www.anad.org
• Steps to Recover Article: Starving Yourself to Achieve the Impossible Figure of Barbie expresses the dangers of attempting to live up to Barbie as a role model as well as the possible links of eating disorders and substance abuse: http://www.stepstorecovery.com/starving-yourself-to-achieve-the-impossible-figure-of-barbie/
• Rehab Center: If you have been diagnosed with an eating disorder and struggle with substance abuse or you’ve never sought treatment but believe that you are living with both of these issues, help is just a phone call away. To learn more about this resource click on this link: http://www.rehabcenter.net/substance-abuse-and-eating-disorders/
• Binge Eating Disorder Guide: Parenting Pod and Dr. Kim Langdon, MD recently created a comprehensive guide on binge eating that includes symptoms, causes of BED, risk factors and warning signs to look out for. This guide will help you learn about compulsive overeating, binge eating disorder, and what you can do to stop it. You can read more here: https://parentingpod.com/binge-eating-disorder/