Delta Delta Delta, changing body image talk

More than 10 million women in the United States are affected by eating disorders. The Epsilon Alpha chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority at FGCU is raising awareness about negative body image through the second annual "Fat Talk Free Week."

The international five-day body activism campaign challenged students to refrain from conversation about the "thin ideal," which refers to the unrealistic standard of beauty presented by society.

Fat Talk Free Week is one of the largest collaborative efforts to increase the awareness of the negative impacts "fat talk" has on our society.

Delta Delta Delta created a peer-led eating disorder prevention and body image education program called Reflections. This program is credited with the creation of Fat Talk Free Week.

One essential component of the program is a pledge to end "fat talk" in everyday conversation. "Fat talk"s includes common negative statements such as "I feel fat," and "I really need to lose weight".

Nancy Johnson, a freshman majoring in communication, believes that "Fat talk" has a negative impact physically and mentally.

"When I feel too much pressure about my body type, I become self-conscious and stressed. I either abandon any concern about eating healthy because I am so focused on eating less to lose weight, or I become so stressed that I overeat."

Informational tables in the college breezeways provided the opportunity to sign the "Fat Talk Free Week" pledge throughout. The main focus of the program is to change the conversation habits of college women.

The Reflections program has impacted more than 6,600 women on 34 campuses. By spring 2010 an additional 30 campuses will have begun the program.

Delta Delta Delta is well on its way to reaching its goal of educating 20,000 women about the drastic impact of negative body image.

Jennifer Joyce, a Delta Delta Delta senior majoring in health science, believes that "Fat Talk Free Week' should not cause women to ignore their bodies, but instead shift their concern to health instead of image.

"We are proposing that women focus more on health rather than on weight or size… I am a girl and just like any girl I have had body image issues. I am doing this event because of my friends who speak negatively about themselves."