EDC Speaks in Support of the MEPS Act

May 22, 2014, Washington, DC.

The Eating Disorders Coalition was humbled to speak at Congressmen Glenn Thompson and Congressman Tim Ryan's Press Conference on May 22, 2014, in honor of the Medical Evaluation Parity for Service Members (MEPS) Act (HR: (H.R. 4305 / S. 2231).  The MEPS Act passed the House on May 22, 2014, and, in short will "provide an individual with a mental health assessment before the individual enlists in the Armed Forces or is commissioned as an officer in the Armed Forces."

Why does the EDC care about this bill?  For several reasons, including what the bill states in its findings: (1) More focus needs to be put on mental health in America. (2) The large number of suicides among veterans and members of the Armed Forces is unacceptable, especially given that more members have died by suicide than in combat. (3) Many of those suicides in the military were members of the Armed Forces who never deployed. (4) Members of the Armed Forces, having been at war for more than a decade, have been put through acute physical and mental stress. (5) Many of the suicides in the Armed Forces can be prevented, and studies have found that improved screening reduced later behavioral problems by 78 percent and reduced thoughts of suicide by more than half. (6) Although the military currently has a baseline measurement process for physical health, the military does not currently have similar standards for mental health. (7) It is important that the military ensures that the members of the Armed Forces are both physically and mentally fit for all the missions the United States requires.

Additionally, we care about this bill because a recent study of abnormal eating behaviors in 3,000 active duty women in the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps revealed that more than 60% of respondents had some type of eating disorder, and nearly every Marine Corps respondent (97.5%) met criteria for an eating disorder.  Of active duty Navy men, 2.5% suffered with anorexia, 6.8% bulimia, and 40.8% suffered with "other eating disorders."  Navy men classified in the "normal" category (49.9% of those sampled), reported current behaviors of vomiting, water pills, diet pills, laxatives and binging.

The MEPS Act will help address these alarming statistics. 

Thank you so very much to the champions of the bill and their colleagues, Senator Rob Portman for introducing a companion bill in the Senate.

photo credit: Representative Glenn Thompson

To read more about the MEPS Act: http://thompson.house.gov/press-release/news-release-house-passes-thompson-ryan-military-mental-health-screening-legislation

#TruthinAds June press event

June 11, 2014, Washington, DC.

Eating Disorders Coalition champions Lois Capps and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen accepted the delivery of 28,000 Change.org petition signatures, in support of the Truth in Advertising Act of 2014.  The signatures were generated by Seth Matlins' petition on Change.org (Seth is the father who conceived of the idea behind the bill).

Seth, the EDC and both Congresswomen gave impassioned speeches detailing the dire need for Congress to take action on the Truth in Advertising Act of 2014 (#TruthinAds), a bill that is one part in the complex solution to addressing eating and body image disorders.

Said Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, "For too long, our nation's women and men have been subject to false, impossible expectations of beauty --expectations with consequences so severe that America is facing a full blown public health crisis. While we hope that the advertising industry eventually self regulates, the government has a duty to protect the public when over 30 million people are suffering from eating disordered behaviors."

Congresswoman Capps echoed the urgency for addressing this issue that leads, all too often, to behaviors that drive eating disorders, "Millions of Americans struggle with an eating disorder, and so many others struggle with a healthy body image, comparing themselves to an ideal that often does not exist. We know that while these altered images affect the norms and expectations of all who see them and research has shown that these psychological effects persist, even when the viewer knows that the images could be altered. This is especially impactful on our young people, particularly girls."

The EDC gives a shout out to ALL the many and varied individual activists and advocates who took the time to sign the petition. YOUR VOICE MATTERS and is making a difference!!

For more pictures from the event, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/EatingDisordersCoalition