About Us
A Deadly Disorder that Affects Millions
It's not about a diet. It's not about vanity. It's
not a choice.
For millions of women, adolescent girls, and a growing number of
men, eating disorders are as real and as dangerous as any health
problem. In fact, more people die from anorexia than from any other
mental illness. That's because eating disorders, unlike most mental
health issues, can have severe medical consequences including damaging—sometimes
fatal—effects on virtually every organ system including cardiac,
reproductive, kidney, and musculoskeletal. The fatalities associated
with eating disorders are primarily from cardiovascular collapse
and suicide.
On an emotional level, eating disorders can be devastating, making
work, school, and the daily functions of life often impossible.
And they affect more than the person with the disorder; they can
destroy relationships and tear families apart.
History of The Renfrew Center Foundation's Work
Until the early 1980s, eating disorders went largely untreated
because few people understood them and few professionals were able
to recognize the symptoms. However, in 1985 The Renfrew Center ushered
in a new era, creating the nation's first freestanding facility
exclusively dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders. Over
the course of almost two decades, The Renfrew Center has helped
more than 50,000 women and adolescent girls overcome their destructive
eating and purging behaviors. By providing a safe, non-institutional,
nurturing environment, and with an intense program of therapy, patients
at The Renfrew Center have made remarkable strides.
By 1990, the Renfrew Center realized the epidemic proportions of
the problem and the need for public and professional education to
increase awareness of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.
Since the founding of The Renfrew Center Foundation in that same
year, we have developed a number of programs designed to advance
our mission.
With educational programs for professionals
and the general public, The Renfrew Center Foundation is training
professionals to better treat the disorders, changing public thinking
about healthy eating and body size, and raising awareness about
eating disorders so that they can be better understood, prevented,
detected, and treated.
Through communication with policy makers,
The Renfrew Center Foundation and our network of professionals,
families, friends, and Renfrew alumnae are engaged in educational
activities to remove barriers to treatment.
Through research, The Renfrew Center
Foundation is working to better understand the causes of eating
disorders and develop improved treatment methods.
Every day, The Renfrew Center Foundation is taking
action.
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