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Syracuse Honors Eating Disorder Awareness Week Syracuse Honors Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Th city's iconic buildings glowed green to bring awareness to eating disorders.

By Sasha Bull

SASHA BULL: This week, the National Eating Disorder Awareness Association celebrated their annual awareness week by lighting national landmarks, from iconic buildings here in Syracuse to the Empire State Building and as far as Las Vegas City Hall, in the organization’s signature colors.

And while raising awareness is a great first step, there are still many misconceptions about eating disorders. One of those is that people struggling with eating disorders spend all their time here. And not enough time here.

NICKI COX:I think people think that they’re a choice and I think people think it’s as simple as just food. In a way food might be the weapon people use, but it’s not at all the cause or the root. It’s usually because they want control because something big happened in their life and the only thing they can do to control that situation is to control their food intake.

BULL: Cox uses her platform of thousands of Instagram and TikTok followers to show people who may be struggling with eating disorders how to use exercise as a tool for recovery.

COX: You know I just wanted to start a page that could give other girls like me who had a history of eating disorders a way that they can channel how they incorporate fitness and having an active lifestyle without relapsing or going back into a really negative mindset about things.

BULL: And for Cox, the impact she has made on her followers has proven to be deeply personal.

COX: About a year ago I was on a hike and I got a DM from a woman who works at Seattle Children’s Hospital in the eating disorder patient clinic area, and she DMed me saying that some of the girls who are currently in the program and are struggling with eating disorders had found my page and that during their group therapy sessions they literally were talking about like the things I was saying and doing. It was just a very full circle moment to see that I was literally right there, like that was me a couple years ago and here people are now knowing that it can get better, knowing that there is another side to all this. And I was like on the top of the hill like crying my eyes out because it was like a really full circle moment of really just remembering why I was doing it in the first place.

SYRACUSE,  N.Y. (NCC News) – The green glow emitting from Syracuse’s most iconic buildings this week was more than just an aesthetic choice.

As part of the National Eating Disorders Associations’ awareness week, landmarks across the country were illuminated with the organization’s colors.

The weekly initiative is part of an annual campaign to educate the public about the realities of eating disorders and to provide hope, support, and visibility to individuals and families affected.

While coast-to-coast effort to colorfully illuminate buildings united dozens of U.S cities raised awareness of eating disorders,  there are still many misconceptions about what eating disorders actually are.

Syracuse-based fitness influencer Nicki Cox is an eating disorder survivor. She uses her platform of thousands of Instagram follows to promote a holistic approach to fitness and recovery, and hopes to spread the message that eating disorders are not actually about food.

“In a way food might be the weapon people use, but it’s not at all the cause or the root,” she said. “It’s usually because they want control because something big happened in their life and the only thing they can do to control that situation is to control their food intake.”

For many who struggle with eating disorders, exercise is another method of control. Cox wanted to start her social medic channels to promote fitness as a tool for recovery, instead of a weapon.

“I wanted to give other girls like me who had a history of eating disorders a way that they can channel how they incorporate fitness and having an active lifestyle without relapsing or going back into a really negative mindset about things,” she said.

And for Cox, who was hospitalized for her eating disorder, seeing the impact on her followers makes recovery even more special.

Last year, Cox received a message on Instagram from a nurse in the same ward she was treated on. The nurse told Cox that some girls who are currently in the program who found her page and were inspired by the things she was saying and doing online.

“It was just a very full circle moment to see that I was literally right there, like that was me a couple years ago and now people are here knowing that it can get better, knowing that there is another side to all this,” she said.

“And I  was crying my eyes out because it was a  moment of really just remembering why I was doing it in the first place,” she added.

For those who may be struggling, the the National Eating Disorders Association has free resources to start the recovery journey.

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