Islanders present ‘Understanding Eating Disorders’ webinar

Published 6:30 pm Thursday, May 28, 2026

Mercer Island registered dietician and nutritionist Marissa Beck said that Mercer Island High School (MIHS) student Ella Choe was courageous to step forward and organize the “Understanding Eating Disorders” webinar.

Choe, a MIHS junior, struggled with an eating disorder after moving to the United States from Korea before her seventh-grade year and wanted to share her story and why the topic is important to her at the event. She first discussed creating the webinar with Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (YFS) prevention programs coordinator Michelle Ritter and then event facilitator Beck entered the picture to help bring the presentation to fruition.

“I wanted to create a space where students, parents, friends and community members could better understand eating disorders, learn more about warning signs and feeling less alone or confused if they ever encounter something like this themselves,” Choe said during the May 18 webinar.

Beck’s specialty is eating disorders and disordered eating and she’s the founder of Mercer Island-based REVV Health. She said that eating disorders create distress that can affect someone’s mental and physical health and require them to seek professional treatment.

“I’m asking you tonight to really stay open minded because the more that you really understand eating disorders, then the better everyone in our whole community will be to really catch it early and to know where to go if you need help,” said Beck, the mother of two girls who attend Mercer Island elementary schools.

Ritter noted on the webinar that Mercer Island students in grades six, eight, 10 and 12 participated in the 2025 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey. She pointed to survey data and said that many Mercer Island students are struggling with either their body image or how they’re eating and their relationship to food.

Choe said that she remembers her father saying that he wished he had known more about eating disorders while helping his daughter.

“I think a lot of families care deeply and want to do the right thing, but they just don’t know where to start or what signs to look for early on,” said Choe, adding that she’s still actively working on recovery.

Some of the behavioral, emotional and physical warning signs, according to Beck’s presentation, include skipping meals or making excuses not to eat; eating secretly or in hiding; an intense fear of gaining weight; a distorted view of one’s body; noticeable up-or-down changes in weight; fatigue, dizziness or fainting and more.

“For parents, specifically, I often tell families, ‘Trust your gut, you know when something feels different. You know when something is increasingly consuming your child.’ If we can get really good at recognizing these patterns, then we can really seek the help that I believe our children really need,” Beck said.

When one slide directed at parents flashed on the screen, Beck offered some tips on how they can speak to their child when learning of an eating disorder: “I love you and I’m so glad you said something” and “We’re going to figure this out together” were two of the recommended talking points.

In guiding teens on how to the take the first step in reaching out to someone if they feel they have an eating disorder, Beck said they can take a free and anonymous online screening on the National Eating Disorders Association website, tell one safe person (a counselor, trusted adult or doctor) and more.

“You deserve to be a kid, to feel good inside and outside of your body — you really deserve support,” Beck said.

Beck later told support caregivers that it’s important that they are involved in the entire process.

Mercer Island resources include the YFS confidential voicemail at 206-275-7657 or by visiting www.MercerIsland.gov/YFS. Ritter noted that counselors are available at each Mercer Island school and at the YFS office at Luther Burbank Park.

To view the webinar, which features resources and where to get help at the conclusion, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1jUGyJ6i9Q. The program is brought to the community by YFS and the Healthy Youth Initiative.