“The Be-You-tiful contest began in 2009 as a fashion show for high school students to demonstrate what beauty means to them, Janice Bremis, founding member of the Eating Disorders Resource Center, said. As time went on, it expanded to different forms of media and how it affects young people’s self-esteem or appearance. There were over 83 entries this year. Bremis said when she was growing up, she dealt with her own body image issues by looking at magazines and can’t imagine what the younger generation of students are exposed to on social media.
“Bremis started EDRC in 2006 because she felt there were not a lot of resources for people with eating disorders. Bremis struggled with an eating disorder as a teenager and was able to receive treatment. However, many people do not know it is correlated with their mental health. Bremis said there is a lot of stigma and denial to admit one has a mental illness and the eating disorder is the effect of not dealing with it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, you can learn more about various care options here. EDRC provides support groups and maintains a comprehensive directory of specialized treatment providers in the Bay Area. You can also support EDRC’s mission further by making a tax deductible donation.
