Eating Disorders in College

When people think about college, the words and phrases that often come to mind are partying, sororities, meeting new people, independence, etc. Most of these things are considered to be positive but students can also encounter negative things such as alcohol poisoning, a decline in grades and the development of an eating disorder.
 
According to the University of Maryland Counseling Center website, eating disorders are usually prevalent in adolescents and college students. They can arise from anxiety, loneliness, depression, family and personal relationships and cultural pressures to be thin.

 
These are emotions that we all feel at some point in our college career. But for some, these feelings can push them toward harmful behaviors such as binge eating or starving themselves.
 
Research has shown that women are more prone to developing eating disorders.  This is because they care more about their appearance then men and are more influenced by their peers’ opinions and comments.
 
In college, women are faced with events and circumstances that often bring their body image to the front of their minds. For example, certain sororities only accept girls that look a certain way and if a girl knows she was rejected due to her appearance, she might take action to change how she looks.
 
There’s also spring break, which recently passed. Girls stress themselves out when they think about looking physically attractive for the beach and fitting into bikinis. This could lead to severe dieting which in turn could lead to an eating disorder.

 
Senior economics major and Spanish minor Elizabeth Sibaja said she went on a diet her sophomore year before going down to Florida for spring break because she was self conscious about how she would look in her bathing suit.
 
There is also a common misconception that eating disorders do not affect men.
 
This is not true.
 
The University of Maryland Counseling Center also stated that 90 percent of reported eating disorder cases are females but there has been an increase in eating disorders amongst men.
 
Sophomore eietetics major Precious Kolowole said she knew a boy who was self-conscious about his weight because his friends always teased him and he later developed exercise bulimia. This means he exercised beyond what is considered a healthy amount of time and he even exercised if he injured himself or was sick.
           
If you feel that you might have an eating disorder or know someone that does, you should know that there are resources on campus that are there for you. The University of Maryland Counseling Center has counseling and psychotherapy services staffed with licensed professionals. Additionally, the Health center has wellness counseling and diet analysis if you have problems with your weight.