Author: Charlotte Strauss Swanson
As high school seniors begin their first year of college, it is common for stress and anxiety to bring about changes in eating habits. According to CBS News, studies have shown that “at the end of the freshman year, more than 17 percent [of students] were overweight or obese, compared to only 14 percent at the start.”
“Yeah, I definitely don’t want to put on the freshman fifteen . . . I wouldn’t want to go home over Thanksgiving and have my friends say, ‘Oh wow, you’ve gained weight,” Lara Nassar (freshman) said.
While adjusting to the new college environment, students often begin to diet and or over-exercise. According to Margo Maine’s Body Wars: Making Peace with Women’s Bodies, “78 percent of 18 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies.” For many young students, obsessions with self-image and the body progress into dangerous illnesses, such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating.
According to Emmons Health Center, “As many as 86 percent of those experiencing eating disorders report onset prior to the age of 20. This is likely due to developmental factors. For instance, one’s self-image – be it stable and positive, or highly self-critical – tends to develop and crystallize during the adolescent and young adult developmental phases.”
At Occidental, there are currently no student-run organizations that are specific to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. However, the Center for Gender Equity (CGE) provides services and programming that address issues of feminism, body image and health. The CGE provides workshops for students in collaboration with Emmons Health Center and Project SAFE.
Additionally, Emmons Health Center currently has a team of counselors and health care workers who are trained in the recognition and treatment of eating disorders.
To find more information email Emmons Health Center at oxywell@oxy.edu or visit http://www.something-fishy.org/.
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