I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 26 

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 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mrs. BIGGERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, 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 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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

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

3 from eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, 

4 bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, as well 

5 as eating disorders that are not otherwise defined. 

6 (2) Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder char7 acterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss. 

8 (3) An estimated 0.5 to 3.7 percent of Amer9 ican women will suffer from anorexia nervosa in 

10 their lifetime. 

11 (4) Anorexia nervosa is associated with serious 

12 health consequences including heart failure, kidney 

13 failure, osteoporosis, and death. 

14 (5) Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality 

15 rate of all psychiatric disorders. A young woman is 

16 12 times more likely to die than other women her 

17 age without anorexia. 

18 (6) Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder char19 acterized by excessive food consumption followed by 

20 inappropriate compensatory behaviors, such as self21 induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, fasting, or ex22 cessive exercise. 

23 (7) Bulimia nervosa is common: an estimated 

24 1.1 to 4.2 percent of American women will suffer 

25 from this disorder in their lifetime. 


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1 (8) Bulimia nervosa is associated with cardiac, 

2 gastrointestinal, and dental problems including ir3 regular heartbeats, gastric rupture, peptic ulcer, and 

4 tooth decay. 

5 (9) Binge eating disorder is characterized by 

6 frequent episodes of uncontrolled overeating. 

7 (10) Binge eating disorder is common: an esti8 mated 2 to 5 percent of Americans experience this 

9 disorder in a 6-month period. 

10 (11) Binge eating is associated with obesity, 

11 heart disease, gall bladder disease, and diabetes. 

12 (12) Eating disorders usually appear in adoles13 cence and are associated with substantial psycho14 logical problems, including depression, substance 

15 abuse, and suicide. 

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

17 girls want to be thinner, and 81 percent of 10-year18 old children are afraid of being fat. 

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

20 pathological dieting, and 20 to 25 percent of these 

21 individuals progress to partial or full syndrome eat22 ing disorders. 

23 (15) Eating disorders can lead to death. Ac24 cording to the National Institute of Mental Health, 

25 1 in 10 people with anorexia nervosa will die of starVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:56 Jan 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H26.IH H26

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1 vation, cardiac arrest, or other medical complica2 tions. 

3 (16) Eating disorders can have a negative im4 pact on the educational advancement of a student, 

5 a situation often overlooked and rarely addressed in 

6 the Nation’s schools. 

7 (17) Educational efforts to prevent eating dis8 orders are of primary importance to the health, well 

9 being, and academic success of the Nation’s stu10 dents. 

11 (18) Females are much more likely than males 

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

13 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia and an 

14 estimated 35 percent of people with binge eating dis15 order are male. 

16 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

17 The purposes of this Act are the following: 

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

19 parents with the means and flexibility to improve 

20 awareness of, identify, and help students with eating 

21 disorders. 

22 (2) To help ensure that such individuals receive 

23 a high-quality education and secure their chance for 

24 a bright future. 


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1 SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE ASSISTANCE FOR THE IDENTIFICA2 TION OF, TRAINING ON, AND EDUCATIONAL 

3 AWARENESS OF EATING DISORDERS. 

4 Section 5131(a) of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

6 by adding at the end the following: 

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

8 students with eating disorders, increase awareness of 

9 such disorders among parents and students, and 

10 train educators (such as teachers, school nurses, 

11 school social workers, coaches, school counselors, 

12 and administrators) on effective eating disorder pre13 vention and assistance methods.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

15 The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the 

16 Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director 

17 of the National Institutes of Health, shall carry out a pro18 gram to develop, distribute, and promote the broadcasting 

19 of public service announcements to improve public aware20 ness, and to promote the identification and prevention, of 

21 eating disorders. 

22 SEC. 6. EATING DISORDER RESEARCH AND REPORT. 

23 Not later than 18 months after the enactment of this 

24 Act, the National Center for Education Statistics and the 

25 National Center for Health Statistics shall conduct a 


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1 study on the impact eating disorders have on educational 

2 advancement and achievement. The study shall— 

3 (1) determine the prevalence of eating disorders 

4 among students and the morbidity and mortality 

5 rates associated with eating disorders; 

6 (2) evaluate the extent to which students with 

7 eating disorders are more likely to miss school, have 

8 delayed rates of development, or have reduced cog9 nitive skills; 

10 (3) report on current State and local programs 

11 to educate youth about the dangers of eating dis12 orders, as well as evaluate the value of such pro13 grams; and 

14 (4) make recommendations on measures that 

15 could be undertaken by the Congress, the Depart16 ment of Education, States, and local educational 

17 agencies to strengthen eating disorder prevention 

18 and awareness programs. 

Æ 


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