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Chattanooga: Walk brings attention to eating disorders

By: Emily Bregel
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Becky Johnson

Organizers are expecting hundreds of people to participate in this year’s third annual Walk for Cammy’s Cause, a 2.88-mile course through the Tennessee Riverpark.

The course is named in honor of Cammy Robinson, a Chattanooga woman who died in 2005 after a 14-year struggle with anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

Ms. Robinson’s mother, Jan, and her friend Ashley Yates established the walk, as well as the nonprofit MCR Foundation, to bring awareness to the problem of eating disorders, said Jenny Johnston, executive director of the foundation that provides resources for those dealing with eating disorders.

“When Cammy’s parents were going through this, there weren’t any resources in Chattanooga,” Ms. Johnston said. “There was nowhere to go. None of the doctors knew (about eating disorders); counselors were rarely available.”

Proceeds from the event, which starts today at 10 a.m., support the MCR Foundation, organizers said. Last year, the walk raised more than $56,000 and had about 600 walkers, they said.

This year’s event chairwoman, Nini Davenport, who was family friends with Cammy, participated in the inaugural Cammy’s Walk in 2006.

“It’s just a very uplifting experience. It’s not a long walk, not an aggressive walk,” she said. “It’s just something to celebrate Cammy’s life as well as have the opportunity to participate in making a difference in the area of eating disorders.”

Researchers still are working to understand the complex psychological and biological causes for eating disorders, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Families often struggle to understand why their loved ones are suffering, Ms. Johnston said.

“I’ve talked to so many families, and they don’t know what to do. (They think) ‘Just eat! Why can’t you eat?’ And it’s not like that,” she said.

Some who are dealing with eating disorders have a history of trauma or sexual abuse, said Becky Johnson, executive director of the new Center for Eating Disorders, which opened in March at Focus Healthcare of Tennessee on Shallowford Road. The center offers a residential treatment program, including psychiatric and medical care, individualized therapy, yoga, cooking classes and restaurant outings, as well as life-skills training.

“It’s often about the feelings or suppressing the feelings and emotion,” Ms. Johnson said. “People with addictions are numbing something, suppressing something, focusing on either not eating or overeating to numb the feelings.”

In the 2007 Tennessee Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 17 percent of teenage girls surveyed said they had gone without eating for 24 hours or more in the past 30 days to lose weight or keep from gaining weight.

Family members must educate themselves about eating disorders to understand how to approach loved ones dealing with distorted eating habits or a distorted body image, Ms. Johnson said.

“You don’t want to focus on the food. You don’t want to force feed,” she said. “It’s not about control. ... Educate yourself, because if you get in a battle of control, you’re going to lose and they’re going to lose.”

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