Students work to build understanding during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

Although many people believe eating disorders are a matter of self-image, that is not always the case. Rather, they are some of the most dangerous mental diseases affecting a growing amount of people every year. This week marks the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, an effort to erase the stigmatism surrounding eating disorders.

Eating disorders most commonly affect young adults aged 16 to 24. According to Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc, 1 percent of female adolescents have anorexia nervosa and 4 percent of college-age females suffer from bulimia nervosa.

On a campus the size of UW, these numbers translate into a large population of students who are dealing with disorders.

“Like any other campus, UW has students suffering from eating disorders,” said Judy Simon, a UW Medical Center dietician who works with students struggling with the disorder.

One of the students Simon has helped is Heather Barth, an active member of ASUW’s Committee for Eating Disorder Awareness (CEDA).

Like many college students, Barth struggled with an eating disorder when she entered college. Her experiences gave her a passion to help those also battling disease.

“I’ve been there,” Barth said. “It’s a long hard road, but recovery is possible. With CEDA we are trying to create awareness and let people know there is a way out, a light at the end of the tunnel.”

The goal of CEDA is to promote awareness about the taboo subject of eating disorders as well as be a resource for students on campus.

“Most of us know of someone who has an eating disorder or has had one, yet it’s not ok to talk about it, you know? And CEDA is trying to change that,” Barth said.

CEDA President Sara Reed was also driven to become involved due to a personal experience with an eating disorder.

“[I] experienced an eating disorder myself and watching many others, especially in my family, struggle with the same thing I thought it was important to become involved in something so personal,” she said.

While Reed believes that the UW provides great resources for students with eating disorders, like Barth, she said that there is a need for more awareness.

“There are resources and groups out there that can support you and help you get better; however, you have to be willing to put yourself out there and find them,” she said.  “Hopefully, promoting CEDA will help people realize that there are groups out there dedicated to this issue.”

There are several theories as to why eating disorders become prevalent in college.

“Very often eating disorders develop before college and then they get to college and use the eating disorder as a coping method,” Simon said. “Men and women are on their own, dealing with the stress of being college students; usually they’re very high-achieving types of students, in a new environment, getting used to changes.”

Restricting weight may give the student a feeling of self-control as they deal with an environment they have no power over, she said.

“[Students with eating disorders] feel a total loss of control and deal with it by binging and purging,” she said.

Although eating disorders affect females in higher numbers, Simon emphasized the importance of recognizing males who suffer from eating disorders.

“It usually takes a lot of courage for a male to ask for health,” she said. “If a male looks underweight and skinny, no one really questions it.”

Whether the patient is male or female, one of the hardest things to face is having the disorder, Barth said.

“I think it’s the social stigma of it all. [It’s] so hard to seek help when you’re afraid of someone judging you,” she said.

Despite the dangers of eating disorders, Simon remains positive.

“The majority of the students that stick with it … do end up having functional, wonderful lives,” she said. “It’s important that the university has resources right here on campus.”

[Reach reporter Erika Cederlind at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]