National Eating Disorders Association to host walk at Henrico’s Deep Run Park

The National Eating Disorders Association will host its Richmond NEDA Walk April 29 at Henrico’s Deep Run Park. The walk, like others the organization hosts throughout the nation, is designed to spread awareness about eating disorders and build local communities of hope, strength and recovery. More than 50 regions will host walks this year.

The event will begin with registration from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by the 10 a.m. walk. To pre-register, visit https://nedawalk.org/Richmond2023.

A common misconception, according to NEDA officials, is that eating disorders affect a specific type of person. But in reality, eating disorders affect people of all genders, races, religions and body types – about 28.8 million people in the United States in total.
Those aged 12 through 25 make up 95% of cases, according to NEDA.

Eating disorders have the second-highest mortality rate of all mental health disorders, surpassed only by opioid use disorder, according to NEDA. Money raised from this weekend’s NEDA Walk in Henrico will help fund programs and resources focused on prevention, cures, and access to quality care.

“Twenty million women and 10 million men in the United States will struggle with an eating disorder at some point in their lives,” said Sarah Chase, NEDA’s vice president of communication. “Moreover, a recent report in JAMA found that 22% of children and adolescents worldwide, that’s one-fourth of young people, showed disordered eating.”

Deep Run Park is located at 9900 Ridgefield Parkway.