Health doesn’t have a look- Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2026

Author: Breanna Mills R.D.

Eating Disorders affect people of all genders, sexual orientations, ages, socioeconomic classes, abilities, races, and ethnic backgrounds. Every year, groups from across Canada come together on February 1^st to 7^th for Eating Disorder Awareness Week (EDAW), a week focusing on raising awareness about eating disorders in Canada and discussing challenges and barriers in accessing care. This year, the theme of Eating Disorders Awareness Week is “Health doesn’t have a look.”  This theme focuses on challenging harmful and popular beliefs that health is equated with thinness. These messages, rooted in healthism, weight stigma and diet culture, impact individual personal relationships with food and their body and have greater far reaching and societal impacts through judgement, exclusion and marginalization. NEDIC aims to promote working together to promote body respect, inclusion and a more compassionate understanding of health.

The goals of this year’s campaign are:

1. Taking action at various levels, whether that be in your own circle, your community and within larger systems

2. Learning the tools to spot and resist harmful messages that can shape how we view food, body size and movement

3. Creating safe and welcoming spaces that don’t focus on weight

4. Exploring trusted resources and services

How can you get involved:

“Health Is More Than…” Poster Campaign

You can participate in NEDIC’s poster campaign, by putting up posters in common areas near you. These posters promote that health is more than what you weigh, what you eat, how you look, how you move and what you see.

Social Media Campaign

NEDIC has put together a variety of social media graphics to support both conversation starters, and conversation stoppers around these harmful messages about thinness and health. You can share these posts with your social media networks to help amplify these messages and spark broader conversation. They provide ideas for: interrupting conversations in physical activity spaces, interrupting conversations at school, interrupting conversations at home, navigating weight-centric healthcare, and cultivating weight-inclusive healthcare.

New Resources

NEDIC has created a new resource, Navigating Food-Centered Events with Care and Compassion. Food brings people together but for those who may struggle with their relationships with food, these events can also be challenging. This resource provides ideas for how to navigate these events if you are attending and if you are hosting an event.

Events

NEDIC has compiled a list of events happening all over Canada in support of EDAW. Check out an event that is happening near you to show your support.