With summertime here, the desire to wear shorts and bathing suits while working on tans hits with full force.
Some students will start exercise regimens to improve their tone and remain fit, while others will watch what they eat and look for healthy meals to keep their bodies in shape.
For some, maintaining an ideal weight becomes problematic. Obsession about one’s appearance can result in unhealthy eating habits that can lead to serious health complications and death.
Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are serious eating disorders, and should not be taken lightly.
Anorexia is defined by The National Women’s Health Information Center as a ‘way of using food or starving oneself to feel more in control of life’ by someone who is afraid of gaining weight. Bulimia is another type of eating disorder where a person binges by eating a lot of food and then ‘purges’ to prevent weight gain.
The causes of eating disorders have been attributed to many things, including genetics, stress, family history, the media and cultural factors. Eating disorders affect men and women of all ages.
Those with an eating disorder may exercise to the point of exhaustion and take diet pills, not thinking twice about skipping a meal or two. They may gorge themselves at every meal, only to purge themselves later.
For college students, skipping meals is fairly commonplace, but repeating this pattern every day can have serious health consequences, such as thinning hair, anemia, dehydration and memory problems.
It may appear that students are staying in shape, but in reality they’re injuring their bodies for an aesthetic obsession.
If you think you or some one you know may have an eating disorder, visit the University Health Center or Counseling and Psychological Services for assistance.
