National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders.

National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders.
Box 7 Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (847) 831-3438 Fax: (847) 831-4632

It all began with the love of a mother for her daughter. In the early 1970's, Vivian Meehan, ANAD's president and founder, was a nurse at a hospital in Highland Park, Illinois when she was faced with a tragedy—a family member was struck with anorexia nervosa. Because she was in the medical field, she thought that she could easily research the field and find answers. To her dismay, there was literally no information for sufferers or families and no support systems.

Vivian was told, "Anorexia nervosa is so rare that there are probably no more than 2000 cases in the United States -- you are wasting your time." She refused to believe that. If she knew someone with a problem, there must be others with the same problem. No one seemed to have any answers.

Vivian decided to do a simple thing: She placed a few lines in the classified section of a community newspaper asking if anyone was concerned about anorexia nervosa. From that tiny ad, she received 8 responses, some from sufferers and some from family members. The ad drew more people and finally a group of parents started to meet.

From this small beginning, a national magazine discovered the story and suddenly Vivian was bombarded by thousands of phone calls. She opened her home and her heart and launched the first hotline and referral service in the nation.

ANAD was officially launched in 1976, and it is the oldest eating disorder organization in the nation. Today, from its headquarters in Highland Park, this organization continues to answer thousands of hotline calls each year. ANAD continues to assist individuals and their families to find resources and provide referrals to professionals.

The small support group Vivian founded in her home went on to establish groups throughout the world. At present there are over 350 groups in the nation and in 18 foreign countries. They continue to provide support and self-help for the individuals and families affected by eating disorders and
are always free of charge.

With a focus on education, ANAD launched the first national conference in 1979. Hundreds of volunteers, many of them health professionals, offer their services and continue to provide conferences, seminars, workshops and presentations across the nation. ANAD's School Guidelines reaches thousands of schools throughout the country to help faculty prevent, identify and intervene in eating disorders.

Consumer advocacy projects are also a top priority. Many people face dilemmas of inaccess to care because of insurance problems; ANAD fights both on a federal and state by state level for mental health parity and also fights against insurance discrimination. These activists testify at Congressional Hearings on issues like research and education funding or the dangers of diet pills and laxatives. They are active in Washington, serving on committees and supporting bills involving women's health issues and mental health.

ANAD wages campaigns against harmful advertising which promote eating disorders, and it has convinced companies like Revlon, Hershey and Channel to drop their detrimental advertising. Recently, ANAD has campaigned against the pro-anorexia sites on the internet and has been successful in identifying these destructive sites. With the cooperation of companies like Yahoo, the problematic sites are removed. The Media and Internet Guardian program continues full force today to meet this challenge.

All ANAD services are FREE. None of this would be possible without ANAD volunteers. They are the heart and soul of ANAD. Our administrative costs are very low because of the devoted individuals who have provided hours of work and pro-bono services. Today, ANAD continues to grow with an additional focus on using the internet to reach more people and providing more services. As always, there is a human and personal touch that makes ANAD so unique.

When you call, there is a real person at the other end of the phone to comfort you, give you hope, and respond - 'Hello, this is ANAD. How can I help you?'

Contact ANAD for help, support, or more information about eating disorders:
P.O. Box 7 Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: 847-831-3438.

ANAD and the contents of this website copyright 2007 by National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders.