Charlie Rose, fourth-year student with the School of Health and Exercise Student, shows off one of the covered campus mirrors.
It’s unlikely if you visited any washroom or change room on campus on November 3.
That day was Mirrorless Monday for UBC Okanagan — a day to reflect on what is on the inside, instead of what is on the outside. Mirrors in a number of campus spaces were covered with brown wrapping paper and spattered with inspiring, motivating quotes.
Sally Stewart, director of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences’ Nutrition Education Centre, spearheaded this awareness event with the help of fourth-year Human Kinetics practicum students.
“As we are discovering, most universities have little support for students with eating disorders,” says Stewart.
“Mirrorless Mondays helps spread awareness of disordered eating and excessive exercise in hopes of encouraging those suffering to come forward and get help before it becomes a clinical issue.”
The event is part of the School of Health and Exercise Sciences’ Prevention, Understanding, Motivation, Power to gain the Skills to heal program (PUMPS).
To find out more about Mirrorless Monday or the PUMPs program, contact Sally Stewart (sally.willis-stewart@ubc.ca) or Mary Jung, assistant professor of health and exercise science, (mary.jung@ubc.ca).
Important eating disorder statistics
- 90 percent of those with eating disorders are women between 12 and 25 years old
- Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness
- 25 percent of college-aged women engage in bingeing and purging as a weight management technique
- Women in university or college aged 18 to 21 have higher rates of bulimia than those who are not involved in higher education
- Of those with lifelong eating disorders, 53 percent say their eating disorder first emerged during college
- Two percent of UBC Okanagan students have indicated they are suffering from an eating disorder. With the stigmas and denials around this disorder, the numbers are likely higher.
