The increasing demand from secondary schools for talks about eating disorders has led to the launch of a new information pack for teenagers.
The eating disorders association Bodywhys has produced 1,500 CDs for distribution to 750 secondary schools on request.
Sinead Hardiman, Bodywhys development officer, said the group had received 72 requests from schools for talks in the last school year so there was a need for an information pack.
Bodywhys gets about 500 calls a month to its helpline (1890-200 444) and more than 3,000 visitors to its website every month.
An estimated 200,000 people have an eating disorder in the Republic.
A recent survey by the Irish magazine U found that 18 per cent of respondents had forced themselves to vomit to lose weight. According to Bodywhys, there is no single reason why people develop an eating disorder but it is usually a combination of biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors. The new CD looks at the issues surrounding eating disorders and has modules on self-esteem, food and emotions and the media portrayal of body image. It is aimed at boys and girls and includes stories from people affected by eating disorders. One man tells how he was affected by muscle dysmorphia - a disorder where people lift weights and exercise compulsively because they think they are too small and frail.
The CD shows models before and after their photographs have been airbrushed for magazines.
"This is a very real way of highlighting that what you see is not always real," said Jennie O'Reilly, Bodywhys chief executive.
She said most eating disorders start between the ages of 14 and 17 so school was an obvious place to target teenagers.
"Early intervention, whether it is a visit to a doctor or support from an organisation like Bodywhys is key to recovery."
Bodywhys has called on schools to do more work on raising awareness of eating disorders. The information pack was launched yesterday by Minister of State with Responsibility for Children Brian Lenihan.
He said children were being bombarded with information about what was fashionable.
It was important that children were empowered to make their own decisions about these issues.
