NEWS RELEASE

Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2005

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

BODY IMAGE DISORDERS TACKLED
DURING EXTREME MEASURES TOUR AT UH

Using personal stories and cautionary advice, the Extreme Measures Campus Tour will help women confront the dangers of body image disorders during an event hosted by the Pan Hellenic Council at the University of Houston April 7.

The mission of the Extreme Measures Campus Tour is to help female college students properly handle societal pressures to fit an ideal of physical beauty. Speakers will include Kacey Long, a survivor of botched cosmetic surgery; psychologist Jana Rosenbaum; and an eating disorder survivor. The tour of 11 nation-wide campuses is part of the national Extreme Measures Campaign, a project of the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO).

As many as 10 million American women suffer from eating disorders, and more than 90 percent of all Americans with eating disorders are women, according to the National Eating Disorders Association.

“In the Extreme Makeover era, many young women suffer from eating disorders and undergo risky cosmetic surgery in the quest to live up to a societal ideal,” Lauren Keller, UH campus campaign director said. “We are here to address this burgeoning public health problem on the University of Houston campus.”

Over the coming months, the Extreme Measures Campaign for UH will be undertaking a number of educational activities on the pervasiveness of body image problems, including hosting the Extreme Measures Campus Tour. In addition, the coalition will be working to educate students, administration officials and policymakers on the importance of effective services, policies and regulations to help safeguard women’s health.

The UH campaign was begun by students, campus and community leaders who formed a coalition to address the many pressures young women face today to look perfect. Among the founding members of the coalition are the UH Wellness Center and the Women’s Resource Center.

For information, call Lauren Keller at 713-459-5388 or visit the No Extreme Measures web site at www.noextrememeasures.org.

WHO:    Kacey Long and Jana Robertson

WHAT:   Extreme Measures Campus Tour

WHEN:   7 p.m., Thursday, April 7

WHERE: Cougar Den, University Center, University of Houston.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.