In 1997, Glamor Magazine featured an article claiming that about 20 percent of Miami University female students meet official clinical guidelines for eating disorders. That statistic has caused a myth that has stuck and contributed to the many thoughts about eating disorders on campus.
Dr. Rose Marie Ward, the associate professor of health promotion at Miami University, is currently researching all elements of eating disorders. When she arrived at Miami she heard the myth from the article in Glamour Magazine and began researching the true statistics on campus. According to Ward, the facts mentioned in the article came from a counselor at the counseling center, but the data was false.
According to Ward, the university has more of a “Miami image” problem, where students will go to great lengths to fit the image. Ward said that the Miami Image is what students think Miami students should look like, including what clothes she or he should wear. At this time, Ward and her colleagues are conducting surveys from the students about the issue. So far, the data show low numbers, meaning that eating disorders at Miami are actually not as big as a problem as some thought.
“I’m not denying that there are people with issues,” Ward said. “Students don’t know that their professors listen to what they say in class like, ‘Oh I just ate so much, I have to go to the gym.’”
Ward said American culture has normalized how people obsessabout eating and the need to work it off immediately. According to Ward, this is similar to how our culture has normalized blacking out when drinking.Ward said without each female student going through psychiatric evaluations, there is no way to get a true estimate of how many females suffer from an eating disorder.
“We have collected surveys and in general what we know is that bulimia is more common then anorexia,” Ward said. (Photosource)
Eating disorders effect people on all college campuses. According to the National Organization of Anorexia Nervosa and associated disorders, eating disorders usually affect people between 12 and 25 years old and are more frequently women. Based on a college campus survey, 91-percent of women surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting. The study also found that 25-percent of college-aged women engage in binging and purging as a weight-management technique.
As students on campus struggle with eating disorders, there are still students that struggle to not relapse after recovering. Sarah Jones (name changed to protect source), is a Miami University student who is a recovering bulimic.
“It started in 8th grade,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t eat in front of people, and I was nervous of what they were thinking [about] when I was eating,” Jones said. “It eventually turned into me not eating at all. My parents are from an Italian family, so we eat a lot, so they noticed a few things.”
That soon changed into eating then purging. Jones realized she needed help when her bulimia became so bad that she almost died. When Jones’ parents finally stepped in, she went though a program similar to rehab.
Jones said the pressure of “the Miami image”, what to wear and how to look, is not difficult because her high school, an all girl’s school, was even more competitive. (Photosource)
“A lot of people in my high school had eating disorders so they had to bring a psychologist to deal with it,” Jones said.
At this time, Jones is healing, but she wants students struggling with eating disorders to seek help. Jones said it is very important to discover the root of the cause of the disorder before it becomes consuming.
“I had a lot of health issues that came from it and I had to drop out first semester because I was always missing school,” Jones said. “My immune system was really weak, I was really pale [and] my hair was really thin, ” Jones said.
“It’s not worth it. There are so many happier things you can do, mine was partially a control issue.”
It’s a shameful disease to people, and the key is breaking the silence. If you, or anyone you know is suffering from an eating disorder and want help, call the National Eating Disorder hot-line at 800-931-2237.