I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 873

To amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 

to raise awareness of eating disorders and to create educational programs 

concerning the same, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2003

Mrs. BIGGERT (for herself and Mr. STRICKLAND) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, 

and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL

To amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to raise awareness of eating disorders 

and to create educational programs concerning the same, 

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eating Disorders 

5 Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) An estimated 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 

4 women and girls and 1,000,000 men and boys suffer 

5 from eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, 

6 bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well 

7 as eating disorders that are not otherwise defined. 

8 (2) Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder 

9 characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight 

10 loss. 

11 (3) An estimated .5 to 3.7 percent of American 

12 women will suffer from anorexia nervosa in their 

13 lifetime. 

14 (4) Anorexia Nervosa is associated with serious 

15 health consequences including heart failure, kidney 

16 failure, osteoporosis, and death. 

17 (5) Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality 

18 rate of all psychiatric disorders. A young woman is 

19 12 times more likely to die than other women her 

20 age without Anorexia. 

21 (6) Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder char22 acterized by excessive food consumption followed by 

23 inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as self24 induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, or ex25 cessive exercise. 
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1 (7) Bulimia Nervosa is common: an estimated 

2 1.1 to 4.2 percent of American women will suffer 

3 from this disorder in their lifetime. 

4 (8) Bulimia Nervosa is associated with cardiac, 

5 gastrointestinal, and dental problems including ir6 regular heartbeats, gastric rupture, peptic ulcer, and 

7 tooth decay. 

8 (9) Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by 

9 frequent episodes of uncontrolled overeating. 

10 (10) Binge Eating Disorder is common: an esti11 mated 2 to 5 percent of Americans experience this 

12 disorder in a 6-month period. 

13 (11) Binge Eating is associated with obesity, 

14 heart disease, gall bladder disease, and diabetes. 

15 (12) Eating disorders usually appear in adoles16 cence and are associated with substantial psycho17 logical problems, including depression, substance 

18 abuse, and suicide. 

19 (13) Forty-two percent of 1st through 3d grade 

20 girls want to be thinner, and 81 percent of 10-year21 old children are afraid of being fat. 

22 (14) Thirty-five percent of dieters progress to 

23 pathological dieting, and 20 to 25 percent of these 

24 individuals progress to partial or full syndrome eat25 ing disorders. 
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1 (15) Eating disorders can lead to death. Ac2 cording to the National Institute of Mental Health, 

3 1 in 10 people with anorexia nervosa will die of star4 vation, cardiac arrest, or other medical complica5 tions. 

6 (16) Eating disorders can have a negative im7 pact on the educational advancement of a student, 

8 a situation often overlooked and rarely addressed in 

9 our Nation’s schools. 

10 (17) Educational efforts to prevent eating dis11 orders are of primary importance to the health, well 

12 being and academic success of our Nation’s stu13 dents. 

14 (18) Females are much more likely than males 

15 to develop an eating disorder. An estimated 5 to 15 

16 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia and an 

17 estimated 35 percent of people with binge-eating dis18 order are male. 

19 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

20 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

21 (1) To provide States, local school districts, and 

22 parents with the means and flexibility to improve 

23 awareness of, identify, and help students with eating 

24 disorders. 
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1 (2) To help ensure that such individuals receive 

2 a quality education and secure their chance for a 

3 bright future. 

4 SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE ASSISTANCE FOR THE IDENTIFICA5 TION OF, TRAINING ON, AND EDUCATIONAL 

6 AWARENESS OF EATING DISORDERS. 

7 Section 5131(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7215(a)) is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(28) Programs to improve the identification of 

11 students with eating disorders, increase awareness of 

12 such disorders among parents and students, and 

13 train educators (such as teachers, school nurses, 

14 school social workers, coaches, school counselors, 

15 and administrators) on effective eating disorder pre16 vention and assistance methods.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

18 The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the 

19 Secretary of Health and Human Services and the National 

20 Institutes of Health, shall carry out a program to develop, 

21 distribute, and promote the broadcasting of public service 

22 announcements to improve public awareness, and to pro23 mote the identification and prevention, of eating disorders. 
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1 SEC. 6. EATING DISORDER RESEARCH AND REPORT. 

2 Not later than 18 months after the enactment of this 

3 Act, the National Center for Education Statistics and the 

4 National Center for Health Statistics shall conduct a 

5 study on the impact eating disorders have on educational 

6 advancement and achievement. The study shall—

7 (1) determine the prevalence of eating disorders 

8 among students and the morbidity and mortality 

9 rates associated with eating disorders; 

10 (2) evaluate the extent to which students with 

11 eating disorders are more likely to miss school, have 

12 delayed rates of development, or have reduced cog13 nitive skills; 

14 (3) report on current State and local programs 

15 to educate youth about the dangers of eating dis16 orders, as well as evaluate the value of such pro17 grams; and 

18 (4) make recommendations on measures that 

19 could be undertaken by Congress, the Department of 

20 Education, States, and local educational agencies to 

21 strengthen eating disorder prevention and awareness 

22 programs.

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