Eating disorders have become increasingly prevalent among young adolescents and college students, and nearly 4 percent of women battle either anorexia or bulimia at some point in their lives.
Every year, the Women's Resource Center organizes "Love Your Body Week," inspired by the National Eating Disorders Association's (NEDA) campaign, "Be comfortable in your genes," which took place this year from Nov. 1 to Nov. 9.
This year, the Eating Disorders Research Team at the Connell School of Nursing, consisting of faculty and students ranging from undergrads to those at the doctorate level, has joined with TrueJeans.com in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of eating disorders.
TrueJeans.com, a division of True Apparel, uses advanced technology in order to match shoppers with jeans that are the most flattering for their body types.
The founders, two MBA graduates from Babson, incorporated the company in 2005, but it has just been introduced to the public after nearly two years of extensive research.
TrueJeans.com's slogan is "Change your jeans, not your genes"; and they put "fit before fashion." TrueJeans.com sells a number of brands of designer jeans, including Seven 4 All Mankind, Hudson, and Paige Premium Denim. By searching for the best fit to flatter one's body, they wish to eliminate the stigmas that are associated with one's size.
TrueJeans realizes that body shape and size is mostly based on genetics, which can't be changed through most forms of diet and exercise.
Now that Boston College and TrueJeans have joined together, several students have said that they truly appreciate the way the Web site looks at sizing and works against society's too-thin stereotypes.
One student said, "It's painful when you see a friend simply deteriorate in front of your eyes just to fit into a size zero, or an extra small T-shirt. It's nice to see a company that wants to reverse this type of psychology that has become so deeply ingrained in our culture."
Kristen Deveau, a representative for TrueJeans, said, "True Jeans was honored to join Boston College in their work towards raising awareness about [the] body image issue."
2008 Woodie Awards
