RISE Blog | Food for Thought: Eating Disorders in College Students & Spotting the Signs

By: Ariadne Alexandrides, Giselle Mendoza, and Larissa Castaneda Vargas, Peer Educators & Presley Black, Outreach & Marketing Graduate Assistant
March 27th, 2023

Content Warning: Self-harm, attempted suicide, and discusses various eating disorders/disordered eating behaviors.

For many, college is a new and anticipated part of their life journey, where we can envision a new and independent life and learn to be our truest selves. While this is true to some degree, one aspect of independence often gets overlooked: Healthy habits. Too often we neglect the basic building blocks that help us function as a member of society, like getting proper sleep, eating regularly, drinking enough water, practicing self-care, etc. Falling under the umbrella of healthy habits, eating disorders, or behaviors characterized by disturbances in eating habits that are persistent/continual, can be very serious and affect our mental, physical, and social health. 

What is an Eating Disorder?

Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that can lead people to develop extremely harmful eating habits and distorted views of their appearance and body shape. This persistent behavior leads to disruption in mood, and thinking and can impact interpersonal relationships as well as school, work, and physical health. They can have severe and potentially life-threatening consequences, especially if left untreated. Some things that cause this disorder are stress, trauma, other mental health disorders such as depression, and the overwhelming presence of dieting/starving culture.

Common Eating Disorders in College Students

The college age population falls exactly into the median age of when eating disorders develop. Some of the most common eating disorders are:

• Anorexia Nervosa: Restriction of food intake leading to low body weight, typically accompanied by intense fear of gaining weight and disturbed perception of body weight and image.
• Bulimia Nervosa: Regular, often secretive bouts of overeating followed by self-induced vomiting or purging, strict dieting, or extreme exercise, associated with persistent and excessive concern with body weight.
• Binge-Eating: Recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress, or guilt afterwards; and not regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating. 

How Stress Affects Our Eating Habits

A large part of the college environment is stress. Stress impacts one's health in many ways, one of which being fluctuations in eating habits and bodily functions. For some people, stress and stress hormones make them drastically over-eat as a way to cope and gain control over their lives, often resulting in binging and purging behaviors. For others, these hormones cause the body to over produce adrenaline as a stress response and for the individual to lack an appetite and under-nourish their bodies. They also can turn to the restriction of food as a way of regaining control of their lives and coping, resulting in more anorexic behaviorisms. 

Ultimately, we cannot fully remove stress from our lives, and eustress can aid productivity in our day-to-day activities. However, when distress occurs, and individuals turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, it is important to take note. Understanding our bodies and their stress margins can help us to better regulate our daily habits, and hopefully in doing so, we don't fall into characteristic behaviors of disordered eating habits.

How to Spot the Signs of Unhealthy Eating Habits

Over 28 million Americans suffer from some form of disordered eating in their lifetime (Community Health Partners, 2022). Nearly 80% of people who suffer from an eating disorder go undetected or undiagnosed (Psychiatric Times, 2021). It's important to recognize these habits in order for individuals to receive help. 

Some common signs of disordered eating include: 

• Not wanting to eat when around people, only eating alone
• Creating excuses not to eat
• Frequently talking about food, weight, and body shape
• Using the bathroom for a long amount of time every time they finish a meal, with the sound of running water being present (as this can be used to conceal sounds of vomiting)
• Excessive or compulsive exercise habits
• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Dizziness
• Loss of hair
• Much greater interest in food preparation
• Wearing looser clothing than usual
• Feeling colder in the abstinence of a change in temperature
• Repeated negative comments about their body image/shape/weight
• Weight changes are extreme in a short period of time (loss/gain)

Myths and Misconceptions

There are a lot of misconceptions and myths about eating disorders, myths that we often grew up seeing in the media, but it is never too late to learn. A common misconception about eating disorders is that all of them are associated with being extremely underweight, this can be true for some EDs like anorexia nervosa, but some people even when restricting their eating and having extreme weight loss still maintain their weight in the “normal weight range” and this doesn't mean they are not having an ED. Weight alone is not indicative of an easing disorder and shouldn't be the only reason to be concerned about someone's well-being. 

The second misconception is thinking that “people with eating disorders should just eat more,” this is not only wrong but also can be harmful to the person you are trying to help, recovery isn't a straight line, and it takes time and strength to go through it. By saying someone should “just eat more” you are invalidating and reducing the complex medical and psychological impacts that an eating disorder can have.

How to Help Others Around you

Being able to recognize the signs of eating disorders in yourself and in others is the first step to getting the help that we or others close to us need. Here are some tips on how you can help: 

• Be as informed as possible.
• Express your concerns.
• Do not be judgmental; be caring.
• Be mindful of triggers.
• Encourage others you are concerned about to seek help and provide referrals.
• Be prepared for resistance and/or denial from the other party.
• Talk to a trusted adult or resource.
• Understand that ultimately it is up to the person to want to seek help.
• Be supportive.

Helpful tips to promote a healthy relationship with food

• Be mindful of how you are talking about and to your own body. 
• Don't focus on dieting or diet culture. Instead, do as best you can to have a balanced meal.
• Avoid power struggles over food.
• Understand that building new behaviors take time; practice patience.
• Avoid self-blame.
• Surround yourself with trusted people.
• Promote self-esteem.
• Know how and when to seek help. 

Eating disorders are fairly common within college ages. However, there are always an abundance of resources available to you. If you or someone you know is suffering from disordered eating, take the proper steps to help, and know that there is always someone there to help you too.

Resources Available to Texas Tech Students

 
 

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