White Pine Center for Healing Erie s Body Image Marketing scholarship helps fuel nonprofit s message by Matt Swanseger
Mary Long
America s issues with body image are well-documented. Yes, obesity is disturbingly prevalent in the United States (42.4 percent of adults in 2017-18) and poses a host of health risks and complications. But at the same time, even those within a healthy weight range women especially struggle with accepting themselves and their bodies.
National surveys on the topic revealed that 80 percent of women and 34 percent of men were dissatisfied with their looks. Over half of Americans reported not being happy with their current weight. It s no wonder that eating disorders affect nearly 1 out of 10 Americans at some point in their lifetime, and directly account for an average of 10,200 deaths a year, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.