Fighting an Eating Disorder Starts with Recognizing Signs

The college experience can cause emotional changes for some individuals and that stress can lead to eating disorders.

When the pressures and responsibilities of juggling college and work schedules become too difficult to handle, some students find themselves facing anorexia, bulimia or compulsive overeating?

These eating disorders are a way to block out what is going on in life, researchers have said. Food can bring a sense of security and comfort. People with an eating disorder tend to have low self-esteem, a need to control their surroundings and often have a negative body image.

According to www.nationaleatingdisorders.com, the web site for the National Eating Disorders Association, "a person's body image is how he or she sees himself or herself." Negative body image is a distorted perception of one's physical shape. People may feel ashamed and self- conscious about their bodies. Kerry Johnson, a counselor at SIUE Counseling Services, said some people with eating disorders also have issues with past abuse and a negative self-image.

"Eating disorders are a result of a distorted image of self," Johnson said. Someone who already has low self-esteem and a poor self-image is more likely to develop an eating disorder. A common eating disorder among college students is anorexia nervosa. According to library.thinkquest.org, 1 percent of college students suffer from anorexia.

The disorder is a reaction to external and internal conflicts like stress, anxiety, unhappiness and feeling out of control. Anorexia is a way for some people to cope with those emotions. Some behavioral signs of anorexia can be obsessive exercise, counting calories and fat grams, starvation and restriction of food, self-induced vomiting and abuse of diet pills. According to the eating disorders Web site, those who restrict their food intake, anorexia, do not regularly engage in binge eating and purging, but binging and purging are regular behaviors for some anorexics.

Anorexics typically refuse to maintain a good body weight and even have a fear of gaining weight even though they may be underweight. A common myth about anorexics is that it's easy to tell who they are by their appearance. All anorexics do not look like the extreme cases shown on talk shows. Some may be from 5 to 15 pounds underweight. They may look thin, but do not have the "anorexic look" that society has created. Even if someone does not look sick, that does not mean his or her health is not at risk. Another common eating disorder that strikes students is bulimia nervosa.

According to library.thinkquest.com, an estimated 3 percent of women have suffered from bulimia at some time in their life. The site also said men make up about 5 percent of bulimic people. Men and women with bulimia have binging and purging episodes when they eat a large quantity of food in a short time. The person then uses laxatives or self-induced vomiting as punishment for self-indulgence, according to the Web site. The eating disorders Web site said behavioral signs of bulimia include episodes of rapid food consumption followed by guilt and purging, engaging in strict diet plans and exercise, along with the misuse of laxatives. A myth about bulimia is that people suffering from it always purge by vomiting. According to the Web site, purging can take the form of using laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise or fasting.

Besides anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, compulsive overeating is another common eating disorder. College students suffering with this disorder typically have an addiction to food. Their addiction serves as a way to hide their emotions and a way to cope with stresses and problems in their lives.
Those with compulsive overeating tend to be overweight and are usually aware that their eating habits are abnormal. A person suffering from this disorder is at risk of having a heart attack, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, kidney disease, arthritis, bone deterioration and strokes. The Web site said Compulsive overeaters experience shame and generally have low self-esteem. They often do not feel they are good enough for society.

According to the site, overeaters often have a need for love and validation and may turn to episodes of binging and eating to forget the pain and need for affection. Another myth associated with eating disorders is they only affect women. Johnson said this myth exists because there has been more research involving women and eating disorders than men. Johnson added that there has been an increase in cases of men with eating disorders. It is sometimes difficult for men to come forward for help because eating disorders are still considered primarily a women's disease. Men develop eating disorders for the same reasons women do. They may have low self-esteem and feel unworthy.

Many men, like women, may have been overweight and praised for losing weight. The constant need for validation and praise could be the beginning of an eating disorder for some. In general, people are sometimes not aware that they, or someone they know, may have an eating disorder. Recognizing the behavioral signs of eating disorders is the first step toward treatment. For more information about coping with an eating disorder, contact SIUE's Counseling Services at 650- 2197. For more information concerning eating disorders, visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org or call the national help line at (800) 931-2237.