A Love Letter To Our Bodies

Story posted March 24, 2023 in CommRadio, News by Abigail Chachoute

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - On Tuesday, Penn State’s Healthworks hosted a “Love Letter to our Bodies” event at the HUB.

This event was held for National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which was earlier this month. At this station, students were invited to write letters thanking their bodies for what it does for them and pick up information on campus resources available for eating disorders and body image.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the rate of college students suffering from an eating disorder has been on the rise, affecting 10% to 20% of women and 4% to 10% of men.

With these increasing rates, co-organizer Julie Omvaldo (fourth year, nutrition) said, especially in today’s society it is important for people to celebrate their bodies.

“I think sometimes we forget to stop and think about how important that is, everything our body can do,” Omvaldo said. “A lot of people wrote things thanking their body for the different things it can do, so that’s just a reminder, ‘oh wow my body can do more than just what meets the eye.’”

In creating this event, the planning committee believed this idea would have a long-lasting impact on students writing these letters. Emily Torchia (fourth-year, biobehavioral health) said that she looks for these letters to be a reminder to participants.

“I hope that in the future people take these love letters that they’re writing to their body and look at them if they are ever feeling down and remember that your body is so much more than just an appearance,” Torchia said.

Healthworks is continuing its awareness efforts by holding a workshop about how to help a friend with an eating disorder at the hub later this week

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, educational resources, support and treatment options can be found on the NEDA website.

Abigail Chachoute is a second-year majoring in journalism. To contact her, email axc6070@psu.edu.