EDEN

EDEN was established in 1990 initially as an agency to provide community based services for people with eating disorders/difficulties. Our focus over the last 14 years has shifted from problem based service provision to prevention and health promotion that recognises the interconnectedness of weight issues in all their forms.

There are two broad areas into which EDEN service provision falls: working with individuals and working at the level of public health promotion and eating issues prevention. Our work with individuals is based on self-referral and aims to provide an environment in which people can share their difficulties, identify their options, and access support and resources.

Our health promotion work is informed by EDEN’s experience working with individuals, combined with research evidence concerning the cultural origins of eating and body image difficulties. We recognise that focussing at the level of the individual around issues of eating, weight management and body image can be limited given a cultural context of confusing and contradictory messages and values about weight.

EDEN believes that dieting is ineffective and potentially leads to weight and body image difficulties in all their forms. For this reason we work with individuals to develop body satisfaction and seek to create environments that are accepting of size diversity and which support body trust.

We aim to:

Support and resource individuals who contact us regarding their own or another’s eating issue.

Resource and educate health professionals, community agencies, and schools.

Work to create environments that support body satisfaction.

Advocate for a view of health that is indexed to well-being rather than weight.

Contribute to the development of public health policy concerned with issues of nutrition, weight, and activity.

Raise awareness of EDEN’s approach so that it is well known, incorporated and accepted in NZ Education, Health and Social Sectors