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Andy Fry
IU Campus Recreational Sports
fry2@indiana.edu
812-855-9653

DeeDee Dayhoff
Counseling and Psychological Services
ddayhoff@indiana.edu
812-855-5711

Last modified: Tuesday, February 21, 2012

IU Celebrate EveryBODY Week to raise awareness of body image issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 21, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- During the fourth annual Celebrate EveryBODY Week, Feb. 27 to March 1, health and fitness authorities at Indiana University Bloomington will focus on the positive as they join together to raise awareness of the potential harm that can result from a negative body image.

Activities, sponsored by IU Campus Recreational Sports, IU Health Center and the Coalition for Overcoming Problem Eating/Exercise, or COPE, include a pledge board for participants to commit to appreciating their bodies, a "week without mirrors" where Recreational Sports facility mirrors will be covered and replaced with positive body image messages, and a free Rock What You've Got: Zumba and Hip-Hop Dance Party on March 1 at the Student Recreational Sports Center.

Event participants will also be able to create Love Yourself T-shirts and stickers, provide video testimony of positive body image messages, and anonymously tweet positive body affirmations through the Recreational Sports Twitter account, @IURecSports, with the hashtag #CEBW.

"We're trying some new things this year to add more celebratory and visual elements to the week," said Andy Fry, assistant director of fitness with Recreational Sports. "The live-tweet campaign really took off last year, and I know students will really enjoy the Love Yourself T-shirt component we're adding."

Celebrate EveryBODY Week is an expanded version of a campaign that IU Campus Recreational Sports launched in 2007 to help students become more aware of body image issues and disordered eating behaviors, while connecting them to resources to help address them.

"Students are continually experiencing life changes while in college, which can trigger eating and exercise disorders or unhealthy ways to cope with stress," Fry said. "The reason we started this program and continue to do it annually is to encourage people to take a moment to focus on what is on the inside as opposed to what is on the outside."

Key activities, all held in the Student Recreational Sports Center, include:

  • Kick-off event -- "Bust It! Banishing Negative Body Image Thoughts," 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27. Participants will sign a pledge board, decorate balloons to "bust" (literally popping them) negative self-imagery, and have a fat-talk-free week.
  • Presentation -- "It's Not Only a Girl Thing: Males and Disordered Eating," 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28. The presenter is Stefanie Greenberg, a psychologist who specializes in eating and exercise disorders. Greenberg is a member of COPE.
  • Nightly tables -- Staffed Monday to Thursday. Students can participate in an array of positive body image activities, including the Love Yourself T-shirt/sticker project, live-tweeting for the #CEBW campaign, and posting positive body messages to create an art installation in the SRSC lobby.
  • Closing event -- "Rock What You've Got: Zumba and Hip-Hop Dance Party," 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 1 (SRSC MS1)
  • Distribution of educational materials -- Business cards, informational brochures and fliers explaining the main signs of eating disorders, which can include excessive exercise, will be placed throughout Campus Recreational Sports facilities.

COPE members represent Counseling and Psychological Services, Recreational Sports, Residential Programs and Services, medical staff from the IU Health Center, IU Athletics, local eating disorder specialists and dietitians from IU Health Bloomington Hospital.

For more information about body image or to seek help, contact the Indiana University Health Center at 812-855-5002, Counseling and Psychological Services at 812-855-5711 or Health & Wellness Dietitians at 812-855-8230.

For more information, contact Fry at 812-855-9653 or fry2@indiana.edu, or DeeDee Dayhoff, staff therapist at CAPS, at 812-855-5711 or ddayhoff@indiana.edu.

About Recreational Sports

IU Campus Recreational Sports exists to connect, inform and inspire people to lead active, healthy lifestyles. Recreational Sports is a division of Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. To learn more, visit recsports.indiana.edu or call 812-855-7772.