A week-long series of events begins 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, with the "Mind and Body Fair", in the Grand Salon, of the University Student Union on the east side of campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. The day includes free messages, henna tattoos, professional counseling, free food and advice about food, weight and eating disorders.

The public is invited to attend a discussion on Feb. 26 on "Eating Disorders - Beyond Dieting" that begins at 7 p.m. in the Pieza de Celes Room in the Satellite Student Union in the University Park Apartments on the corner of Lassen Street and Zelzah Avenue. The talk will focus on media and body image issues. There will be information about how to help a friend with an eating disorder.

On Feb. 27, Erin Naimi, a registered dietitian, will talk about a new "weigh" of life that goes beyond letting numbers on the scale determine how you feel.

The morning of Feb. 28 there will be three sessions on eating disorders in the Grand Salon, University Student Union.

At 8 a.m., Sheri Barke, a registered dietitian, will discuss dieting, media influences on body image, health, fitness and body acceptance.

She will be followed at 9:30 a.m. by Dr. Carol Otis, author of The Athletic Woman's Survival Guide, who will talk about the pressure on men and women to be thin, the result of eating disorder practices and the issues of healthy and unhealthy athletics and exercise.

At 11 a.m., Dr. Michael Strober, a national authority on eating disorders and editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, will discuss the recent advances in understanding the various causes of eating disorders. He will talk about how to recognize symptoms in a friend or yourself and how to get help.

For more information about the events or about eating disorders, call (818) 677-7500 or visit the Joint Advocates on Disordered Eating website at http://www.csun.edu/counseling/jade.html.

California State University, Northridge has more than 31,000 full- and part-time students and offers 59 bachelor's and 41 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."