For more than 20 years, Ed told her what to do. He was with her every day of her life. No matter what she did, Ed was never satisfied.

Ed is not a person, yet he is very real. Ed is a nickname for eating disorder - the disease that controlled Jenni Schaefer's life for so long.

Schaefer spoke to BYU students Thursday about her recovery process from both anorexia and bulimia. Her experience is detailed in her book titled "Life Without Ed."

While in the recovery process, Schaefer's therapist taught her to think of her eating disorder as a relationship, not as a condition or part of her identity.

Since her recovery, Schaefer has spoken to audiences across the nation about the seriousness of the disease.

According to the Web site for South Carolina's Department of Mental Health, an estimated 8 million Americans have an eating disorder. The Web site also references a study conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. This study shows 5 to 10 percent of people with anorexia die within the first 10 years of getting the disease. Up to 20 percent of people with anorexia die from the disease within 20 years. Only 30 to 40 percent of people with the disease fully recover.

Schaefer explained that eating disorders are often genetic, but that a person's environment can trigger the disease. As a child, Schaefer was influenced by glossy media images of women in her environment. She was especially influenced by the Barbie ideal.

"She's part of American culture," Schafer said. "Even as a child I played with her and thought that I needed to look like her when I grew up."

Schafer explained that if Barbie were life-size, she would be unable to stand up because her figure is so disproportionate.

Like many anorexics, Schaefer was a perfectionist. Although she couldn't control situations in her life, she could control her body size.

"A teacher could put a difficult question on a test. We could play a really hard team in volley ball," she said. "I couldn't control that, but do you know what? I could control my food because no teacher was going to make me eat."

Many people have misconceptions about eating disorders. Schafer spoke about ways people can discuss appearances and food to avoid encouraging eating disorders. She recommended that people never use moral adjectives to describe food or eating; food does not have an inherent moral quality. Schafer also recommends that people speak to individuals about their lives - not what they look like or what they are wearing.

If people think a friend has an eating disorder, they should address behaviors, changing relationships and moods. Speaking about appearances either negatively or positively only encourages the disease.

Several students in attendance had positive reactions to the lecture.

"Jenni Schaefer knows a lot about eating disorders and promotes healthy ways in which we can view eating disorders and overcome them," said Elizabeth Clayton, a BYU student from Newport Beach, California.

"I'm happy it was such a positive experience instead of a scary thing that people are afraid to go to," said fellow BYU student Heather Ambler.

Copyright Brigham Young University 14 Mar 2008