• Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
    • Legislature
    • Politics / Govt
  • Sports
    • The Bill Pollock Show
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support

Missourinet

Your source for Missouri News and Sports

You are here: Home / Health / Medicine / Former Miss America advocates eating disorder awareness at State Capitol (VIDEO/AUDIO)

Former Miss America advocates eating disorder awareness at State Capitol (VIDEO/AUDIO)

March 29, 2013 By admin

 

Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund stands with State Senators Ryan McKenna (D-Crystal City), David Pearce (R-Warrensburg), and Eric Schmitt (R-Kirkwood) during the 5th Annual Missouri Eating Disorders Advocacy Day.

Miss America 2008 Kirsten Haglund stands with State Senators Ryan McKenna (D-Crystal City), David Pearce (R-Warrensburg), and Eric Schmitt (R-Kirkwood) during the 5th Annual Missouri Eating Disorders Advocacy Day.

Former Miss America is spreading awareness on the dangers of eating disorders by opening up about her own battle with anorexia.

Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund made an appearance at the State Capitol on Thursday to advocate and spread awareness on the dangers of eating disorders and body image concerns faced by Missourians during the 5th Annual Missouri Eating Disorders Advocacy Day.

 “I do a lot of work speaking with young women around the country of various ages; from elementary school up through college,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many of them see their friends participating in dangerous dieting behavior and they tease or get teased and they think this is just a phase or it’s just what people do. But so many parents are under that illusion as well, and they think that their child will just grow out of it,” Haglund said. “And then they lose their child in five years, seven years, or ten years because they struggled with this illness.”

Haglund says she struggled with anorexia as a teenager and urges people to understand that eating disorders are not a phase, it’s a complex mental health issue that requires adequate care and needs to be taken seriously. She says her battle with anorexia began at age 12, and was able to make a full recovery by the time she graduated high school at age 17.

She credits her recovery process to great professional treatment. “Eventually, the goal is insurance reform; the mandate for insurance reform so that every person who struggles with an eating disorder can get the access immediately to the high level of care that they need so they can be recovered and go on to live a healthy, full, productive life,” Haglund said.

Haglund says 15 states have already adopted the insurance reform so that people can get access to care. Missouri legislators are working on a bill that would require all health insurance carriers to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.

 

 AUDIO:  Listen to the full interview with Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund here. (10:27)

AUDIO: Mary Farucci reports. (1:05)

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Health / Medicine, News

Subscribe to our daily newsletter


Tweets by Missourinet

Sports

Numbers and stats on Brady that will make this Chiefs Super Bowl win even sweeter (PODCAST)

Thanks for … [Read More...]

No parade if Chiefs win…picked as early favorites for Super Bowl LV

>>No … [Read More...]

Mizzou men ranked 12th, Dru Smith grabs SEC honor ahead of road game at Auburn

Mizzou … [Read More...]

Budweiser ads will be missing from Super Bowl LV

Anheuser-Bu … [Read More...]

Missouri will be well represented in Super Bowl LV

A former … [Read More...]

More Sports

Tweets by missourisports

Archives

Opinion/Editorials

TwitterFacebook

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC