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Eating
Disorders: Tips for College Students
Eating disorders are complex conditions that are caused
by a combination of biological, emotional, interpersonal
and social factors. They are not due to a failure of will
or behavior. They are very real, treatable medical illnesses.
Although eating disorders are more common in women, they
also occur in men. As many as 10% of women and 1% of men
suffer from an eating disorder. Eating disorders often
begin during high school or college. They can interfere
with self-esteem, social interactions and performance
at school or work. People who suffer from eating disorders
can experience a wide range of physical health complications,
including serious heart problems and kidney failure which
can lead to death.
Eating disorders often co-exist with other psychiatric
problems, including depression, anxiety disorders, and
substance abuse. People with eating disorders need a comprehensive
evaluation by a mental health professional with specific
training and expertise in this area.
The major eating disorders include anorexia nervosa and
bulimia nervosa.
Symptoms of anorexia include:
- Resistance
to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal
weight for a person’s age and height.
- Intense
and unrealistic fear of gaining weight or becoming fat,
even though a person is underweight.
- Disturbance
in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced,
undue influence of body weight or shape on self-esteem,
or denial of the seriousness of the current low body
weight.
- Infrequent
or absent menstrual periods in women who have reached
puberty.
People with anorexia see themselves as overweight even
though they may be dangerously thin. They frequently become
obsessed with the process of eating. They may develop
unusual habits, such as avoiding food and meals, selecting
a few foods and eating these in small quantities, or carefully
weighing and portioning food. People with anorexia may
repeatedly check their body weight. They may also engage
in other techniques to control their weight such as intense
and compulsive exercise, or purging by means of vomiting
or abusing laxatives, enemas or diuretics.
Symptoms of bulimia include:
- Recurrent
episodes of binge eating, characterized by eating an
excessive amount of food within a discreet period of
time, and by a sense of lack of control over eating
during the episode.
- Recurrent,
inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent
weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting or misuse
of laxatives, enemas, diuretics, or other medications;
fasting; or excessive exercise.
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