Kelsey Lynch and Ryan Wichelns
May 2014
JOR 445
Enterprise Story
The American Psychological Association states that 95 percent of people with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25. Eating disorders are becoming notably common. Body image is poor for many young adults and some will go so far as to starve themselves or purge in order to control their weight. “Very rarely do students come forward to get help for their eating disorder. They don’t know that there are hundreds of student who need help on campus just like them,” said Dr. Christopher Nasin, of URI Health Services.
On college campuses nationwide, students are dealing with eating disorders for extended periods of time without the knowledge that there is help and support for him or her to recover at their school. A survey that was taken by 64 college students distributed via Facebook showed that 87 percent have had an eating disorder or have known someone with one. 90 percent of those who took the survey have never seen any publicity for getting help with an eating disorder. “I struggled for over a year in college with anorexia. URI could benefit greatly from flyers around campus that pointed students in the direction to get help,” said pharmacy student Stacey Stepniak.
Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorders are the three most common eating disorders that college students are struggling with today, according to Walden Behavioral Care. Moving away to college is a huge adjustment for a young adult, and they often feel alone when they are dealing with an issue in their life. Men and women are often overtaken by college and begin to hold themselves to the highest standards of body image, comparing themselves to others and media figures.
And rather than finding out if someone could help, many students would rather suffer silently with a life-threatening disorder. “We need to increase support for those dealing so that they know they shouldn’t be ashamed of it,” said Dr. Nasin.
The National Eating Disorder Association conducted a survey as part of a study last year that asked students from 165 colleges about available resources for help with eating disorders. It showed that eating disorders among women in college has risen from 10 to 20 percent and from 4 to 10 percent in men.
According to the Journal of American College Health, there is a need for ways to intervene and diagnose disorders before they become life-threatening. It focuses on the fact that students aren’t aware of the aid that is currently available on college campuses. There is room for improvement in counseling services among many colleges, including the University of Rhode Island, but education on these services to the student body is just as important.
The Journal of American College Health offers the idea of prevention first for eating disorders: “One prevention strategy for enhancing eating-related attitudes and behaviors is nutrition education provided in natural settings.”
Students should feel comfortable talking to someone about their eating disorder, and it starts with education. Colleges need to promote their counseling resources and support students. Just because no one is coming out to say they have an eating disorder doesn’t mean that it’s not happening.
“The need for an expanded role in the areas of student psychosocial concerns and prevention—and for greater collaboration with other student services, such as counseling centers and residence halls—is frequently reported in the college health literature,” the journal states.
The APA published an article in 2011 entitled “The Crisis on Campus,” discussing the issue of growing eating disorders among college students. It stated that when they aren’t aware or don’t have the proper psychological services, they “have the potential to affect many other people on campus, including roommates, classmates, faculty and staff with disruptive and even dangerous behavior.” When students receive adequate treatment and support, the campus may become safer and student life can improve.
After prevention, there is the main issue that students who have developed eating disorders have no idea that there is help, and those with a friend who is struggling don’t know what to do either. Just as in prevention, education is the key. NEDA states, that “Help-seeking decreases significantly when people are not aware of the options available to them.” It suggests that there is a need for increased education and training for those in the Greek system, peer advisors, resident advisors, fitness instructors and staff on campus. These areas of leadership can be the foundations for guiding and educating students on campuses. They can help in the prevention, but more importantly now, as students are starving themselves or purging, the aid is needed faster than at the prevention stage. Students who have already developed an eating disorder require immediate attention for their disorder, so this article will now discuss how to educate those who are currently struggling.
At URI, there are small pamphlets that do educate on drug abuse and sexuality, but not on eating disorders. This lack of the knowledge that there’s support is a main element of this widespread problem, as NEDA states. As of now URI and many other universities do not have support groups that isolate those with eating disorders to come together to recover side by side.
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