Throughout my freshman and sophomore years of college, I struggled with one of the most difficult things I have ever had to overcome. I had fallen into an all-encompassing battle with an eating disorder, and I was stumped as to how I let it happen. After watching my sister suffer through anorexia for about four years when she was in college, I couldn’t believe that I too would be facing the same problem.
Although I am fortunate to have had a fairly quick recovery, my eyes have been opened to the overwhelming number of Elon students that seemed to be in similar situations. It is almost every day that I hear friends and peers express disapproval of their bodies, obsess over what they have eaten that day, or discuss how much they have (or haven’t) exercised. Simply talking about these things in no way defines having an eating disorder, but it does exemplify thoughts that can spiral into behaviors.
I've felt those same anxieties, and I know how easily they can suddenly take control of your life. I decided if there's anything that can be done to help prevent other women from going through something like what my sister and I did, I'd make it my goal to do it. So I started with the facts; how many people in the U.S. have eating disorders, and is the issue more common among college women?
35% of “normal dieters” progress into pathological dieting
Of those, 20-25% progress into partial or full-syndrome eating disorders
Although national statistics were easy to find, there has been absolutely zero research done at Elon on the topic. I took things into my own hands, and created a survey to find out how these national statistics might apply to real Elon students. By sharing it through Facebook and other social platforms over the course of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I was able to receive 154 female student respondents.
The results were somewhat expected, but still discouraging. This infographic displays an overview of my findings:
Additionally, I spoke with three Elon students about their personal experiences with eating disorders. It wasn’t all bad, but each of them addressed the extremely “skinny” and “image-focused” culture that Elon seems to possess. They all had body image issues stemming before college, but agreed that Elon’s environment is consistently triggering. Topics mentioned were the number of attractive and skinny girls on campus, the desire to fit in to the looks and behaviors of others, the fear of the infamous "freshman fifteen", and the difficulty of finding balance between having fun, studying, and being healthy.
So when you're trying to fit in and you're surrounded by girls that constantly talk about calories, exercise, and the overall importance of image, the chances are you will start to embody these attitudes and implied actions. The small self-conscious thoughts and doubts that are normal for young women end up expanding into obsession.
Registereddietician Laura Reavis explained this issue to me during my interview with her;“6.1% of boys and girls ages 13-18 have an eating disorder, but only 3% get treatment… So that means about 4-6% of teens are entering college with an untreated eating disorder”
She also pointed out that research has suggested there is a genetic link, but that genetics are only one factor. The causes of eating disorders are complex, and cannot be generalized by any one thing. She described, "It's not just the genetics; it's kind of the environment, and the culture... one of my colleges says, genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger."
so what can be done?
If over a fourth of Elon female students suffer from an eating disorder at some point in college, how do we lower this number?
This past year I was involved with Elon’s first campus event in honor of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, called Love Your Body Week. It was full of events such as a ladies lifting class, positive body image messages, free short massages, nutrition and cooking classes, Zumbathon, and more. The week truly portrayed what Elon is capable of when the entire school comes together.
Zumbathon
Nutrition Class
Ladies Lifting Night
The Eating Disorder Hope website provides a number of sources for implementing eating disorder awareness and prevention programs on college campuses. It sponsors “College Hope” which shares ideas among schools, and provides access to resources for eating disorder treatment and information. It specifically references successful programs by George Washington University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Texas Christian University.
SPEAK GW
Project LETS
TCU The Body Project
let's take it further.
If we use other schools programs as examples and commit to programs occurring year round, we can spark a conversation to make a lasting impact. Eating disorders and body image issues can longer seen as a distant issue, or merely be brushed under the rug. We need to get informed, and take it upon ourselves to inform others.
The more we know, the better we can prevent an eating disorder occurring among others or even ourselves. The more we understand, the better we can help if someone is already battling an eating disorder. And the more we begin to alter the skewed negativity regarding body image, the less triggering our environment will be.
For more information and personal stories about eating disorders, please listen to my podcast