NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8157
SPONSOR: Gonzalez-Rojas TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring schools to
include instruction on the prevention of eating disorders as an integral
part of their health education programs
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires schools to include instruction on the prevention of eating
disorders as an integral part of their health education programs.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill amends Section 804 of the Education Law by chang-
ing its title to reference eating disorders, and adding a new subdivi-
sion 5-a to require all schools to include age-appropriate instruction
regarding the prevention of eating disorders to all students K-12 as
part of their nutrition programs.
Section 2 sets forward the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Eating disorders are extremely serious mental illnesses that impact
one's relationship with food, leading people to engage in a wide variety
of unhealthy eating habits and/or methods of weight control. Common
eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder,
diabulimia, orthorexia, and Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder.
Young people, particularly middle and high school students, are among
the most vulnerable populations to disordered eating, with nearly 3
percent of adolescents reporting eating disorders. (1)
Eating disorders are becoming increasingly common and should be viewed
as an emergent public health concern in dire need of evidence-based
solutions and treatment. The prevalence of all eating disorders has been
on the rise over the past several decades (2), particularly amongst
college-aged women and other groups, such as men, people of color, and
members of the LGBTQ community. In fact, a 2015 study of nearly 300,000
college students found that transgender students were more likely to
report being diagnosed with an eating disorder and using diet pills,
laxatives, or other methods than heterosexual men or women (3)
Tragically, all eating disorders greatly increase young people's risk of
mortality. In particular, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality
rate Out of all eating disorders, as one in five individuals with anore-
xia nervosa who died had committed suicide, according to a recent meta-
analysis of studies (4) weight loss skills, as the State Health Curric-
ulum standards currently state that by commencement, students should be
able to "know the components of personal wellness (nutrition and weight
control)" (5).
However, these standards currently make no mention of eating disorder
prevention, even as the prevalence of eating disorders has markedly
increased across diverse populations over the past several decades. The
state health curriculum should recognize that disordered eating behav-
iors, such as restricting caloric intake, hinging, purging, abusing diet
pills, and compulsively over-exercising, pose as much of a threat to
young people's well-being as obesity does. New York State's health
curriculum currently focuses on a traditional, calorie-based approach to
weight management, an approach that some studies have correlated with
disordered eating (6). Rather than focus on counting calories, our state
should embrace "intuitive eating", an anti-dieting, hunger-based
approach to eating which has been correlated with both lower body mass
indexes (BMIs) and higher rates of pleasure from eating (7).
Research has shown that age-appropriate, culturally responsible health
education that specifically helps young people build positive self-es-
teem, enjoy healthy eating without developing a fear of food, and engage
in regular enjoyable physical activity can simultaneously prevent the
development of eating disorders and encourage a healthy lifestyle (8).
This sort of curriculum can also help to dispel the many harmful stere-
otypes surrounding eating disorders, such as the idea that all individ-
uals with eating disorders are female-identifying, white, and extremely
thin. Additionally, many people are unaware that not all eating disor-
ders are restrictive in nature, as conditions like binge eating disorder
are not frequently discussed. Making young people aware of the fact that
eating disorders do not have any specific "look" can help to tear down
common self-perceived barriers to accessing eating disorder treatment,
such as one's weight or race (9).
This legislation, which would require schools to include instruction
regarding the prevention of eating disorders in their nutrition
programs, would ensure that vulnerable young people are receiving
support and resources needed to assist in the development of healthy
eating habits, a positive body image, and high self-esteem.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-2020: A9018 (Niou) - reported to education committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of September next succeeding the
date upon which it shall have become a law.
(1) Merikangas KR, He J, Burstein M, Swanson SA, Avenevoli S, Cui L,
Benjet C, Georgiades K, Swendsen J. Lifetime prevalence of mental
disor- ders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity
Study-A- dolescent Supplement (NCS-A). J Am Aced Child Adolesc Psychia-
try. 20100ct;49(10):980-989 2 Battle, E. Katherine, and Kelly D. Brow-
nell. "Confronting a rising tide of eating disorders and obesity:
treatment vs. prevention and policy." Addictive Behaviors 21.6 (1996):
755-765. 3 Diemer EW, Grant JD, Munn-Chernoff MA, Patterson DA, Duncan
AE. Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Eating-Related Pathology in
a National Sample of College Students. J Adolesc Health Off Publ Soc
Adolesc Med. 2015;57(2):144-149. doi:
10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.03.003. 4 Arcelus. Jon, et al. "Mortality
rates in patients with anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders: a
meta-analysis of 36 studies." Archives of general psychiatry 68.7
(2011): 724-731. 5 Learning Standards for Health, Phys- ical Education,
and Family and Consumer Sciences at Three Levels, New York State Depart-
ment of Education, page 6,
http://www.nysed.govicommoninysed/files/programs/
curriculuminstructionThealthpefacslearningstandards.pdf 6 Courtney C.
Simpson, Suzanne E. Mazzeo, Calorie counting and fitness tracking tech-
nology: Associations with eating disorder symptomatology, Eating Behav-
iors, Volume 26, 2017, Pages 89-92. 7 Smith, TeriSue, and Steven R.
Hawks. "Intuitive eating, diet composition, and the meaning of food in
healthy weight promotion." American Journal of Health Education 37.3
(2006): 130-136. 8 O'dea, Jennifer. "School-based interventions to
prevent eating problems: First do no harm." Eating Disorders 8.2
(2000): 123-130. 9 Ali, Kathina, et al. "Perceived barriers and facili-
tators towards help-seeking for eating disorders: A systematic review."
Inter- national Journal of Eating Disorders 50.1 (2017): 9-21.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8157
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 2, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, EPSTEIN, FITZPATRICK, FORREST,
GALLAGHER, MAMDANI -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring schools to
include instruction on the prevention of eating disorders as an inte-
gral part of their health education programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The section heading of section 804 of the education law, as
2 amended by chapter 390 of the laws of 2016, is amended and a new subdi-
3 vision 5-a is added to read as follows:
4 Health education regarding mental health, alcohol, drugs, tobacco
5 abuse, eating disorders and the prevention and detection of certain
6 cancers.
7 5-a. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health educa-
8 tion provided for all students in grades six through twelve, instruction
9 regarding the prevention of eating disorders as a component of their
10 nutrition programs. Such instruction shall be designed according to the
11 age-appropriate needs and abilities of the pupils at successive grade
12 levels, with the purpose of fostering and developing healthy self-image
13 and preparing pupils to live healthy lives. In developing such instruc-
14 tion, the commissioner may consult with the comprehensive care centers
15 for eating disorders established pursuant to article thirty of the
16 mental hygiene law.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of September next
18 succeeding the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective
19 immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu-
20 lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
21 date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07741-01-5
