The Hard Facts on Eating Disorders

Author: Liz Leathy

Before coming to Middlebury College, I remember hearing about the "Middlebury girl:" the stereotype of the pretty, thin blonde. Although our campus is very diverse, the myth still remains. This leads one to wonder how seriously women here consider their appearances, and how much pressure they feel to "fit the mold" of the stereotypical female student.

A potential result of this need to keep up appearances is an eating disorder. Nationally, about 5 to 20 percent of college-aged women have an eating disorder. A study conducted a few years ago indicated that about 17 percent of women at Middlebury have an eating disorder, according to Marianna McShane, director of health and wellness education. Risk factors include perfectionism, a family or personal history of eating disorders, drug abuse, depression and dieting. Also, periods of change and loss, such as going away to college, could trigger problems with body image, McShane noted.

Anorexia nervosa is a potentially fatal disease, affecting 1 to 2 percent of American women. Anorexia is a disorder in which women (or, in some cases, men) starve themselves, resulting in excessive weight loss. Some of the notable symptoms of anorexia are dramatic decrease in weight, a fear of looking fat despite the weight loss, irregular menstrual periods, a preoccupation with body size and shape and refusal to keep a normal body weight. This self-starvation leads to severe physical consequences, possibly including an abnormally slow heart rate and depressed blood pressure. These can eventually lead to heart failure. Other physical effects include osteoporosis, dehydration, muscle loss and weakness, fatigue and hair loss. In an effort to keep warm, the body may also become coated with lanugo, a type of downy hair. Anorexia typically occurs in mid-adolescence and results in the death to 5 to 20 percent of women who suffer from it.

Another serious eating disorder is bulimia nervosa, which affects 1 to 4 percent of college-aged women. Bulimia, like anorexia, is characterized by an obsession with body size and shape. The symptoms of bulimia are excessive overeating in short periods of time, followed by self-induced vomiting, overuse of diuretics or laxatives or obsessive exercising to compensate for the binges. Bulimia is also potentially fatal because the constant binging and purging causes dehydration and loss of potassium and sodium, which leads to electrolyte imbalance. This imbalance causes irregular heartbeats or heart failure. Other health consequences include tooth staining, possible rupture of the esophagus, possible gastric rupture, peptic ulcers, pancreatitis and irregular bowel movements. Unlike anorexia, bulimia may be harder to detect because people affected with it could appear to have a regular body weight.

Another dangerous disease, binge overeating disorder, affects an estimated 25 percent of obese individuals. Frequently eating large quantities of food alone in short periods of time, feeling out of control and feeling guilt and shame are all characteristics of this disorder. Some health risks involved with binge overeating are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and gallbladder disease. People afflicted with this disorder may appear to be of average or above average weight and many have a history of depression.

Although it is commonly assumed that only women suffer from eating disorders, men are also affected. About 5 to 10 percent of anorexia sufferers, 20 percent of bulimia sufferers and 40 percent of binge overeating sufferers are male. Although they may not experience the same symptoms as females, males could have negative feelings about body image due to sports expectations or pressure to be very muscular, which may lead to over exercising.

Although many people may assume that women involved in sports are at a higher risk for eating disorders, the risk is probably only slightly higher, said McShane. She noted that sports that require a lower percentage of body fat, such as ice skating and gymnastics, could have a higher possibility of eating disorders. A definitive study about eating disorders on the Middlebury campus will be conducted next year.

Many students also express concern about eating disorders on campus. A member of the nordic ski team said that although the female and male skiers are conscious of health and eating without being obsessive, he thinks that eating issues are a very real problem on the campus in general. "I know girls who don't eat," he said.

Many students think that a higher percentage of women at Middlebury have eating disorders than at other colleges and universities. On the other hand, a few people mentioned that it seems like eating disorders were more of a problem here than in their high schools. In any case, eating disorders pose a very real dilemma, and should be dealt with in the earliest stages possible. For help or for more information, call extension 5141 to reach the Center for Counseling and Human Relations, the Office of Health Education, the College Nutritionist Mary Anne Kyburz-Ladu and the Body Image Support Group Facilitator Ene Piirak or the Parton Health Center at extension 5135.