Novel Eating Disorder Prevention Intervention Implemented in Philadelphia Public Schools: Body Empowerment Project

Authors

Keywords:

eating disorders, Behavioral Health, child mental health, afterschool program, prevention, health equity, wellness, school, Community School Project, near-peer, mentorship, human services, Community Health, Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Nonprofit organizations, nonprofit leadership

Abstract

Eating disorders are the most fatal mental illnesses for teenagers and young adults in the U.S., with a mortality rate 12 times greater than that of any other psychiatric illness. Body Empowerment Project has developed an innovative preventative health intervention that seeks to reduce eating disorder risk in adolescents. This program has been implemented broadly across 12 public middle and high schools within the School District of Philadelphia with promising early success. We encourage other schools to adopt this early intervention to improve mental health outcomes for youth.

Author Biographies

Christina Miranda, Body Empowerment Project and Stanford University School of Medicine

Christina is a current medical student at Stanford University. She obtained her B.A. degree in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania in 2021. She is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Body Empowerment Project. Christina has been working on eating disorder advocacy efforts since she was 14 years old, after surviving her personal struggle with anorexia nervosa. Christina believes that participating in the programs offered by the Body Empowerment Project would have prevented her eating disorder. 

Amanda Moreno, Body Empowerment Project and Harvard Medical School

Amanda Moreno is the co-founder and co-executive director of Body Empowerment Project. A first-generation Latinx immigrant, Amanda has been passionate about social justice and advocacy from a young age. She is currently a second-year student at Harvard Medical School where she is pursuing her medical degree with an intended focus in minority and immigrant health. An aspiring physician, her ultimate career goal is to work at the intersection of clinical care and public health to improve treatment access and outcomes for underserved populations. Through her work with BEP, she hopes to teach youth how to approach wellness from a place of self-compassion while advocating for themselves and others.

Clara Pritchett, Body Empowerment Project

Clara Pritchett (Operations Director at Body Empowerment Project) is a graduate from Brown University where she obtained a B.A. in Africana Studies. At Brown, Clara developed and taught an independent study course titled Diet Culture and Fatphobia in the US. She went on to graduate with honors following the completion of her senior thesis titled “It is a War on the Body: The Racial Construction of the American Obesity Epidemic”. Aside from her academic background and personal advocacy efforts in this space, Clara has professional experience working for other nonprofit organizations including the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) and Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE).

 

A Philadelphia native, Clara loves working in her home city and giving back to the community. She is honored to work within the public school system she grew up in and address an issue area in which she has both an academic background and extensive personal experience. 

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Published

2023-09-13

How to Cite

Miranda, C., Moreno, A., & Pritchett, C. (2023). Novel Eating Disorder Prevention Intervention Implemented in Philadelphia Public Schools: Body Empowerment Project. Social Innovations Journal, 20. Retrieved from https://socialinnovationsjournal.com/index.php/sij/article/view/6586

Issue

Vol. 20 (2023): Population Health Equity for People with Intellectual Disability, Autism, and Mental Health Challenges and Other Special Populations

Section

Promising Practices

Categories

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Copyright (c) 2023 Christina Miranda, Amanda Moreno, Clara Pritchett (Author)

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