B-More Healthy Expo

March 17th- B-More Healthy Expo

On the longest day of the year for the majority of Irish dancers, St.Patricks Day, I ventured downtown to join the Baltimore Health Expo with Miss University City's Outstanding Teen Kennedy. The expo promoted local busninesses in addition to fitness demonstrations and mulitple performances by UMD's Gymkana and dance centers around the city. As I met with Fox news, Sinai hospital representatives, and the University of Maryland's center for nutrition, I discussed with them the importance of recognizing the establishment of good mental health to prevent eating disorders. My platform, "Starving for Attention: More than Just an Eating Disorder", focuses on the co-morbidity of eating disorders.

For most, the term "co-morbid", has yet to become a word in their understanding of mental health problems. Co-morbid simply implies the accompianment of another mental disturbance with the diagnosed disease. For example, eating disorders are rarely diagnosed without the addition of depression (the most common co-morbid disease). Depression is not the only mental health issue that influences an eating disorder. The afflicted individual could also be suffering from bipolar disorder, low self-esteem, DID (dissociative identity disorder), etc. brought on by peers, family, abuse, competitive sports arenas, or genetic inheritance. It is my mission to educate individuals on the common misconception that "people with eating disorders don't eat". There are many different types of eating disorders and they develop from a number of factors.

The B-More Healthy Expo was a great event that educated and demonstrated how to take care of ourselves, our families, and our homes.