Have That Cookie Initiative

With the rise in popularity of dieting, exercising, and a social media presence that idolizes thinness, eating disorders and disordered eating rates have slowly increased (Anderson, 2020). Orthorexia is an obsession with what one would consider healthy eating that can lead to dietary behaviors closely aligned with disordered eating (National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA], n.d.). While not a recognized eating disorder by the DSM-5, Orthorexia, can have impact on one’s food choices and their overall health. Along with this obsession surrounding a perfect diet, a negative body image can contribute to harmful health outcomes. With increased fear of the obesity epidemic in the United States, there has been a push to diet and exercise more. In a 2018 study by Martin et al., it was found that between 2013-2016 almost 50% of the U.S. population reported attempts to lose weight within the past year via a combination of diet and exercise. A study performed by the National Eating Disorders Association found that 35% of all dieting turns into obsessive dieting and a further quarter of those obsessive diets turn into eating disorders (NEDA, 2013). This media campaign serves as a countermeasure to prevent this push from causing more harm than good by reminding individuals it’s okay to “have that cookie” and enjoy foods deemed unhealthy.

For our pilot campaign, our target population will be students attending the University at Buffalo. This population was chosen for a few important reasons with regards to dieting, exercising, and disordered eating. A report from Johns Hopkins Medicine (n.d.) found that 95% of eating disorders occur in individuals aged 12 to 26. This is important because typical ages of students at universities fall in the latter area of this age range. This is supported by a study that determined 10 to 20% of college females and 4 to 10% of male university students have a clinically diagnosed eating disorder. While only a small percentage have diagnosed eating disorders, the same study mentioned a survey by the American College Health Association that discovered 44% of college females and 27% of college males diet to lose weight (Ekern & Karges, 2013). These statistics show that disordered eating is prevalent in college populations and our target population should mirror that. Our campaign wishes to reach the entire student body with special interest in individuals attending the fitness centers on North and South campus, student athletes, and nutrition/dietician. These three groups should especially be target for a specific reason. Athletes and those who frequently exercise may have more of risk towards developing unhealthy eating habits or a negative perception of certain food groups as a by-product of their fitness lifestyle. Lastly, nutrition/dietician students at UB will especially be included as a target group because of a 2017 study found that Orthorexia and Eating Disorders were more common among dieticians when compared to the general public (Tremelling et al.,).

• Raise awareness about eating disorders and disordered eating

• Increase student knowledge about eating disorders and disordered eating

• Improve student’s perception on their body image

• Promote positive health behavior change among students who may border the line between health conscious and health obsessive

• Make students more aware of mental health services on campus or online help resources for those who suspect they may suffer from an eating disorder or related illness

• Promote the use of such services mentioned above

• Help students develop a positive relationship with foods they may fear or restrict from

Fortunately for our campaign a majority of the work can be performed online for free. This includes creating flyers or infographics with no cost on websites such as Canva and Piktochart (each site has a paid subscription option if we decide we need to use more of their services), surveys can be created for free using google survey, online messages can be sent out via UB’s email list serve or via various social media platforms which are free to use. Our first cost comes in the form of physical flyers. We can print color copies of our flyers at the UB libraries for $0.35 each (http://www.buffalo.edu/ubit/services/print-anywhere/features.html) which means a budget of $125 we can print out 350 flyers to use across the three campuses. Additional cost will come from the tape, staples, or tacks needed to post the flyers. If we are able to partner with UB, purchasing a large quantity of UB shaped cookies from the school would add another expense to plan our budget around.

When developing our message, we want to make sure we use language that matches the health literacy of our target audience. Other ways we can resonate with our audience is to use eye-catching statistics and graphics on our messages that will draw in students. Images and language used should be able to make viewers feel relatable to our message. This means common gym or diet lingo and images of people working out, cooking, and different body shapes should be highlighted. Our message can be reviewed by current professors in the field of nutrition, mental illness, public health, and marketing/communication at UB. This can greatly help contribute to the development of an effective message. To spread and communicate our message there are a few options that will be used. To start, using social media sites such as Instagram, twitter, and tik-tok will be useful in spreading our message online. This can also be done via emails to actively seek engagement. For in-person communication, posting flyers with informative statistics and QR codes linking students to more resources can be posted around campus. This can be coupled with monthly tabling events at dining halls and inside the Student Union to distribute our flyers, give out information about these issues and of course, free cookies.

To pre-test the effectiveness of our message, after we are done developing the message and flyer, we will ask those professors who aided in message development to present it to their respective classes. After the presentation, the professors will ask their students for feedback and a grade (1-5) on overall effectiveness within that area of study. After receiving feedback and making necessary changes, our media campaign will be ready to roll out. This will come in the form of posting flyers around each campus, tabling events, and postings on social media sites.

To monitor our campaign, we will ask for student feedback at tabling events and use a QR code on flyers with a link to a space for students to write out feedback/recommendations. Another form of monitoring is by checking the types of interactions students are having with our social media posts. Some possible tweaks that first come to mind are narrowing down the target population or focusing on one specific eating disorder. To evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign and to see if we reached our objectives, we will send out an end of the semester email containing a survey that asks questions about the impact the flyers and social media posts had, what they learned, and if students ultimately had that cookie. These impact surveys will be sent out to individuals who provided their emails at a tabling event or those who digitally gave feedback. Other methods to evaluate if we met our objectives is to see if there was an increase in social media and web interactions about our campaign over the course of the semester. We can also check with UB’s counseling services to see if there was an increase in rate of students seeking help for eating or diet related issues.

Anderson, A. (2020). The Problem with Dieting: Eating Disorders Affecting American

College Students. https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2020posts/the-problem-with-dieting-eating-disorders-affecting-american-college-students.html

Ekern, J., & Karges, C. (2013). Starting College and the Risk of Eating Disorders. Eating

Disorder Hope. https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/eating-disorder/college-risk

John Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Eating Disorder Facts.

https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Services/Pediatric-and-Adolescent-Medicine/Adolescent-and-Young-Adult-Specialty-Clinic/Eating-Disorders/Eating-Disorder-Facts

Martin, C. B., Herrick, K. A., Sarafrazi, N., & Ogden, C. L. (2018). Attempts to Lose Weight

Among Adults in the United States, 2013-2016. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db313.pdf

NEDA. (2013). Eating Disorders on the College Campus: A National Survey of Programs

and Resources. https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/sites/default/files/CollegeSurvey/CollegiateSurveyProject.pdf

NEDA. (n.d.). What are Eating Disorders: Orthorexia.

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/orthorexia

Tremelling, K., Sandon, L., Vega, G. L., & McAdams, C. J. (2017). Orthorexia Nervosa and

Eating Disorder Symptoms in Registered Dietitian Nutritionists in the United

States. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 117(10), 1612–1617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.05.001