College and University Blog
College Students and Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Compulsive Eating Disorder
Our society continues to prize thinness even as Americans become heavier than ever before. Almost everyone worries about their weight occasionally. People with eating disorders take these concerns to extremes and develop abnormal eating habits that can threaten their well-being and even their lives.
Adolescents and young women account for 90 percent of eating disorder cases. Eating disorders can also affect men. Eating disorders are often practiced in private. Sometimes family and friends never suspect a thing. An awareness of their abnormal behavior cause many people with eating disorders to withdraw from social contact, hide their behaviors, and deny that their eating has become problematic. Making an accurate diagnosis requires the involvement of a mental health expert or physician.
There are psychological factors that can predispose people to eating disorders. Dysfunctional families or relationships, personality traits, low self-esteem, feelings of helplessness, and intense dissatisfaction with the way they look can all contribute to an eating disorder. Once people start engaging in abnormal eating behaviors, the problem can snowball. Binging can set a vicious cycle in motion.
Eating disorders usually don’t go away on their own. Not treating them can have serious consequences. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that one in ten anorexia cases ends in death from starvation, suicide, or medical complications like heart attacks or kidney failure. Eating disorders can devastate the body and the mind. People with eating disorders have higher rates of other mental health disorders — including depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse — than other people.
Treating an eating disorder often requires a multidisciplinary approach. A physician may be called on to rule out medical illnesses and to determine that the patient is not in immediate physical danger. A nutritionist may be asked to help assess and improve nutritional intake. A psychologist will be called upon to identify important issues that require attention and to develop a treatment plan. While changing a patient