Naperville, IL – U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL-13th), today met with medical professionals at the Linden Oaks behavioral health center at Edward Hospital to address the growing epidemic of eating disorders.  Following a roundtable discussion with medical professionals who specialize in treating individuals battling eating disorders, Biggert met with young people currently in recovery at Arabella House, a residential treatment facility.  Biggert, a senior member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, also highlighted her bill, H.R. 36, the Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2011, which would assist schools in developing their own eating disorder awareness and prevention programs.

           “The statistics are startling.  Ten million girls and one million boys suffer from eating disorders each year, and face serious health consequences or death,” said Biggert.  “One of our biggest challenges is that eating disorders often go unnoticed or unaddressed in schools.  My bill will give schools the tools to develop their own eating disorder awareness and prevention programs so that teachers are prepared to recognize the warning signs and offer students somewhere safe to turn for help.”

           Biggert’s bill expands the allowable uses of the Innovative Education Strategic Block Grant program to include programs aimed at awareness and prevention of eating disorders, including role modeling, teacher training, and mentoring.  The bill also calls for a study by the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics on the prevalence and impact of eating disorders on American students.

           “Our local medical professionals at Linden Oaks and Arabella House are working to fight these diseases day-in and day-out.  Their input is crucial to helping me move this bill forward,” said Biggert.  “The work being done at these two facilities is wonderful because it gives young people the confidence to overcome the pressures that lead to purging and starving, and teaches them the skills they need to begin living a more healthy life.”

           “We applaud Rep. Biggert’s effort to raise awareness of eating disorders in our nation’s schools and identify students who suffer from them.  Anything we can do to spread the word and put someone on the road to recovery is certainly positive.  We want these young women and men, and their parents to know help is available for disorders that have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness,” said Mary Lou Mastro, Chief Executive Officer, Linden Oaks at Edward.

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