Sep 25 2009
Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) announces their Second Annual Fellowship Convention to be held at the Santa Clara Marriot from October 16-18, 2009 in Santa Clara, California.
Founded in 1998, FA is an international fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience and mutual support, are recovering from food addiction. For many people who use food as a drug, FA offers an effective, long-term solution to food addiction, whether they under-eat, overeat, are bulimic, or are otherwise obsessed with food, weight or exercise.
Based on the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, FA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine. Membership in FA is free and is open to anyone who wants to recover from food addiction.
The number of FA members registered for attendance at this year's convention exceeds 850. Attendees are expected from 31 states in the U.S., 3 provinces in Canada and will be traveling from as far as Australia, Cuba, and the United Kingdom to attend.
According to the most recent FA membership survey conducted in 2009, the number of FA members is estimated at 4,044 worldwide. Of the fellowship surveyed, 89 percent are female, 11 percent are male, 90 percent are between the ages of 31 and 70, and 8 percent are younger than 30. A full 49 percent report being free from addictive eating for 13 months to 5 years. Forty-four percent have had a normal body size for 13 months to 5 years. Members with continuous success in the program since its inception have maintained upwards of two decades in a healthy body size, including maintaining documented weight loss of as much as 200 pounds.
The fellowship of FA spans over 40 states in the U.S. and countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In the United States alone, there are more than 418 weekly FA meetings available for those looking for freedom from food addiction. While most members attend meetings locally in their region, some members in areas where there are no FA meetings follow the program long-distance.