ABSTRACT
My personal voyage throughout the field of eating disorders prevention began over 25 years ago. It has been a wonderful voyage, although certainly it has not always been smooth sailing. Supportive colleagues have sailed similar journeys and they have helped ease the stormy days and smooth the rocky waves. In this article, I take a look back at where I’ve been and what I’ve seen, and offer my thoughts as to some next steps in moving forward. I begin by presenting some of the early work done within schools and families and make some suggestions for moving forward within these proximal environments of young people. I will then share some of my thoughts about moving inward and using yoga as a popular mind-body modality to prevent and reduce risk factors for eating disorders. It is also important to move outward and utilize policy to ensure healthier social and physical environments, at a more global level than has been typical within our field. Given the high prevalence of obesity, and the attention and resources being directed toward obesity, we also need to consider the potential for intersection between the fields of obesity and eating disorders prevention. This brief article describes my journey and some of the thoughts gathered along the way; unfortunately, although some of the key work done in the field is cited here, the brevity of this article will not allow for a comprehensive look at the excellent work that has been done to advance our field by so many outstanding colleagues. I have chosen to focus on my own journey here, not because my work has been more important than the others, but rather because I am at the stage of my career where I am reflecting on where I’ve been and where our field has been, and looking forward to what’s next.
