Why Are Eating Disorders So Common On College Campuses?
According to the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), the average age of onset for eating disorders is between 18 and 21 years old (1).
For students, this transitional period of life presents itself with many rewards. Teenagers experience a newfound sense of independence often unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. However, these rewards rarely come without challenges.
One of the greatest challenges students face as they transition into college is the potential to develop an eating disorder. In fact, statistical analysis outlining the prevalence of eating disorders among college students indicate that (2):
10-20% of women and 4-10% of men in college reported having an eating disorder (reporting on non-binary and trans students is largely understudied despite those in the LQBTQ+ community being at much greater risk for the development of an eating disorder)
4 out of 10 students report either having an eating disorder or know someone who has an eating disorder
The average age of onset for anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa is 18 years old
The average age of onset for binge eating disorder is 21 years old
College students are at a substantially greater risk for developing eating disorders compared to other age groups, but why?
Here are 7 reasons why eating disorders tend to manifest during college:
1.Loss of control and structure regarding eating habits:
The idea of moving away to a university often gives teenagers a false idea that they will have more control over their food intake. Although they no longer have parental figures to watch over them and make decisions about what foods are brought into the house, students often find that they have less control and less structure when they make the move to college.
In fact, most students are required to purchase a specific number of meals or points for use in campus dining facilities. While meal plans provide some students with convenience and structure, many students have a not-so-great experience with meal plans.
Although dining facilities on campuses nation-wide are improving, food provided for students is often not adequate to meet the needs of a large portion of students. Despite increasing numbers of international and ethnically and culturally diverse students, there are rarely culturally-inclusive foods being served in dining halls.
Students with severe allergies or food preferences are often given minimal options with little variety. Some dining courts even place restrictions on how much food students are allowed to take. While for some, meal plans can be helpful, for others meal plans can exacerbate pre-existing disordered eating behaviors. For example, if a student is already a picky or restrictive eater, they may find that college meal plans worsen their restrictive behaviors. Dining halls often unintentionally label foods as “good” and “bad”, as well as some campuses adding nutrition facts including calorie counts, for students to access. This only reinforces diet culture beliefs that contribute to the development of eating disorders.
Meal plans can be expensive as students bear the weight of financial independence. Students that are food insecure may choose meal plans with less points or skip meals to avoid spending more money.
Overall, students cannot control what is served, what times the dining facilities are operating, how many people are in the dining hall while they are eating, how their food is being prepared, or the cost of the food. This loss of control has a significant impact on their eating habits and may lead to disordered eating behaviors.
2. Newfound independence
One of the most exciting parts of the college experience is a newfound sense of independence and autonomy. Students have the freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want. While many students are satisfied with this change, some students find it difficult to provide themselves with a sustainable life structure.
This can look like skipping classes, attending parties every night, substance abuse and dependence, skipping meals, eating at odd hours, forgetting to eat, and more. With the overwhelmingly busy nature of classes, assignments, extra-curriculars, and social events, it’s not uncommon for students to sometimes skip meals so they have enough time in the day to get everything done. And with no one reminding them when to eat or how much, this can send students into disordered patterns such as skipping meals, binge eating, and more.
Many students develop these behavioral patterns such as skipping meals to attend school or social functions, and are unable to develop healthy coping mechanisms to manage the overwhelm and stress of being in college and/or peer pressure.. To make matters worse, students no longer have nearby parental figures to turn towards in times of emotional turmoil.
Additionally, parents are not physically able to see if their child is struggling with mental or physical health issues which can cause disordered eating behaviors to worsen into eating disorders.
3. Lack of access to mental health and eating disorder services
College is already full of stressors as students struggle to manage academic and social pressures. Between exams, assignments, social pressure to look or perform in a certain way, and extracurriculars, it’s no wonder students have a hard time! Students with perfectionist personalities are especially at risk for developing eating disorders during this time to cope with and manage the stress of college.
Many students do not have mental health support they need on their college campus as they deal with these stressors. In addition to this, because of weight stigma and fat phobia, many students eating disorders behaviors will not be seen as concerning because they aren’t in a thin body and/or those behaviors are not normalized. Some students might be concerned about their eating behaviors or body struggles, but they don’t know where to turn and/or if the services that are offered feel safe to them.
As a result, many students find themselves not pursuing getting nutrition counseling for disordered eating or eating disorder recovery, and the eating disorder tends to get worse.
4. The “Freshman 15” & fear mongering around weight gain
Among the many pressures of this transitional period in life, high school seniors across the nation have been plagued for decades by the “Freshman 15” fear mongering. And seeing that a preoccupation and unhealthy fixation on weight remains one of the greatest risk factors for the development of eating disorders, you can see how unhelpful instilling fear about the “freshman 15”. Although weight gain in college is completely normal, many students have unhealthy fears of changes to their bodily appearance. This fear can trigger disordered eating behaviors and manifest into an eating disorder.
The myth of the Freshman 15 is used to describe the supposed fifteen pounds that freshman students gain in their first year of college. Despite a lack of scientific evidence to support this, many students still walk into their freshman year concerned about their weight and bodily appearance.
A survey among college freshman females indicated that the majority of students had “intense fears about gaining weight and expressed concerns over newly found food independence” (3).
Despite a growing fear of weight gain and continuous talk of the Freshman 15, there is little discussion and education around weight gain in college being completely normal.
In fact, to illustrate this, a term known as “second puberty” is becoming more and more popular. This second puberty refers to the bodily changes a person might experience in their late teens and early twenties. Among these changes are weight gain, which is most often misattributed to unhealthy eating behaviors and exercise patterns. Many people are unaware that these changes are a very common experience among most people, especially those that are of college-age.
5. Desire to fit-in socially:
The presence of diet culture within social media causes many students to fall into the “perfect body” trap, a never-ending quest to achieve unrealistic beauty standards. This can be experienced before college, during college and in-between breaks during the summer time. In an attempt to fit-in in social settings, students may attempt to alter their physical appearance through disordered eating behaviors such as bingeing, purging, restriction, and more.
Sororities and fraternities are especially detrimental to the mental well-being of students. One study revealed that, “Women who participated in the rushing process had a higher level of body image disturbance than those who chose not to rush.” (4) The rejections felt throughout the rushing process often become self-internalized feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness.
Also, students often find themselves navigating complex social situations, which can be a source of great stress and anxiety and may find themselves using disordered eating to cope with emotions and provide emotional relief.
6. Exposure to peer’s eating disorder or disordered eating behaviors:
While researchers are struggling to gather hard evidence to support this claim, it is no secret that humans are social beings. Although an eating disorder is not a physically contagious illness (it is a mental illness), we must acknowledge the impact of social learning.
This remains true for college students who are in a new environment with new people from all over the world. Students may be exposed to other students who have their own disordered eating behaviors. Whether it is intentional or not, students may find themselves adopting other’s behaviors.
This might look like:
Watching a friend purge after a meal
Restricting food because a friend is also restricting/dieting because friends are dieting
Pressures from friends to remain a certain size or weight
Restricting certain foods or food groups because others do
Excessive exercising to avoid weight gain
Obsession with body appearance
7. College athletics:
Students participating in college athletics are at a higher risk for developing eating disorders, especially those competing in weight-centric sports such as: Swimming, Cross country, Track and field, Gymnastics, Dance, Wrestling, Rowing and Diving
College athletics, unfortunately, are an environment where fat phobia and diet culture thrives. For example, gymnasts are supposed to be “small enough” to flip and do skilled tricks. Dancers are taught to be “thin and light”. Wrestlers are told to “cut weight” through disordered eating behaviors, arguing that weight loss of more than ten pounds in a few days is safe and necessary for optimal performance.
For these students, sports can easily and often do become a source of great stress and anxiety. The pressure to perform well and meet body expectations can cause student athletes to obsess over weight, body appearance, and exercise.
Even though some sports have supposed safety regulations, college athletes are still at great risk for the development of an eating disorder. Because of potential HIPAA violations, nutritionists and dietitians in college athletics are not allowed to disclose medical information to an athlete’s parents or coaches if there is disordered eating present. Because most athletes are conditioned to please coaches and parents, or even out of intense love for the sport, these athletes often refrain from telling friends, loved ones, or teammates about their struggles. Additionally, athletes are often unwilling to step away from their sport in order to heal, which can worsen injuries and put athletes at immense health risks.
Transitional periods in life can cause emotional turmoil and they are times in life in which you are most vulnerable to developing an eating disorder. Transitioning into college, as well as stressors, body expectations/fear of weight gain, isolation and peer pressure, can all contribute to development of disordered eating behaviors that can turn into an eating disorder.
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Are you a college student who is struggling with your relationship to food and your body? Are you a parent who is concerned about your college-age child’s wellbeing and suspect they may have an eating disorder?
Our Seattle-based dietitians can help! At Bravespace Nutrition we offer 100% virtual nutrition counseling for eating disorder treatment to help indidvuals heal from disordered eating, eating disorders and body image challenges. College is a really hard time for most students and it’s common for disordered eating, eating disorders and body image challenges to arise during this time, but you don’t have to navigate it on your own! If you, your child, or someone you know is struggling with body image challenges, disordered eating or an eating disorder in college, we are here to help. To get started, schedule a discovery call with us today!