Being a college student is a vulnerable time to develop an eating disorder. There are many factors that make college the perfect storm for disordered eating behaviors to occur, and for many, this is just the beginning. Around 15-20 percent of college students meet the criteria for an eating disorder diagnosis with a much higher percentage of college students with disordered eating. Having a fraught relationship with food in a college impacts the overall mental health of college students.
The National Eating Disorder Association shares that eating disorders impact people of all different genders, religions races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, body sizes, and weights. Contrary to what you have been led to believe in school or by society, you can’t tell if someone has an eating disorder based on their outer appearance or weight. The minority of eating disorder cases are below weight while most people with eating disorders are of “normal” weight or “overweight”. Eating disorders are deadly at any size or weight.
College students with eating disorders are able to hide their eating disorders from their family and friends and even themselves. Living away from home or not having consistent contact with parents makes it easier for an eating disorder to grow and thrive. This is not to say that living at home or seeing parents often will stop someone from developing an eating disorder. This just may be one risk factor for developing an eating disorder but there are plenty of people using eating disorder behaviors right before the eyes of family members and friends. Eating disorders are sneaky and easy to get away with.
What are the factors that put college students at risk for developing an eating disorder?
College is a challenging time and a time of tremendous social development. There are numerous factors that make it easy for an eating disorder to develop in college students. This is not an exhaustive list but some factors to consider.
Increased stress and anxiety
I look back on my college years, and I don’t even know how it was possible to deal with the academic rigor required on top of other stressors. Working with college students as a therapist and hearing all that they are trying to juggle, puts me in a state of awe and bewilderment. I see college students struggle with high-functioning anxiety and don’t realize they are struggling with anxiety. This time of life is incredibly stressful. College students are leaving home, trying to manage all of these new responsibilities and relationships they are developing. For many people, college is the first time many start dating, and college students struggle with dating anxiety.
Perfectionism
The clients I have worked with shared showing signs of being a perfectionist in high school and earlier but perfectionism seems to really flair up in college years. College students are worried about maintaining good grades to keep their scholarships, to get into graduate school, or maintain their standing in athletics. It’s enormous pressure to do well in college for many college students. Perfectionism can also translate into struggling with body image issues and wanting to have a perfect body and appearance. Developing an eating disorder often starts out with wanting to lose weight but can progress into perfectionism around food and eating.
More responsibilities
Going to college means dealing with more responsibilities than you’ve ever had before. Regardless if parents are helping out financially or not, being a college student means doing things you may never have had to do on your own before. Paying rent, going grocery shopping, knowing what courses to take and signing up for classes, cooking for yourself, and much more. It can difficult to be able to manage to have enough money to pay for food and then find time to cook. College students lose weight and find they get more attention and compliments on weight loss making them believe this is what they need to keep doing. This progresses into disordered eating.
Loss of direct support
Moving out of the house and going to college usually means less face-to-face interaction with parents, family members, and other supportive people in your life. This can lead to greater stress and anxiety. It also means less help with food and cooking or not having someone aware of disordered eating behavior. People with anxiety can lose their anxiety and start eating less. This leads to weight loss, which can progress to disordered eating.
Fear of “the freshman 15”
When an overachiever is told that they are going to gain at least 15 pounds their freshman year of college, they not only might not want to gain weight but they will achieve even better and lose weight. It’s scary to think of your body changing along with the pressure to be thin in this society. What isn’t told about the freshman 15 is that you are continuing to go through puberty your freshman year of college. Your body isn’t done developing just because you graduate high school. Your body might need to gain weight because it’s still growing. However, this fear of weight gain can be a precursor to eating disorder behaviors.
Comparison to others
We live in a world that is about comparison and competition. Social media makes this substantially worse. Seeing airbrushed, sculpted, and filtered bodies naturally increases body dissatisfaction. College seems to bring up more compared to more people than you were used to in high school. On top of this, there is pressure to date and get married in college, especially in Utah. There is more pressure on appearance and to be attractive. College students might start changing their bodies through weight loss because that’s what they believe they need to do to be attractive. Eating disorders start in what seems like a harmless attempt to lose weight.
Collegiate athletes
A particularly vulnerable population of college students are those that play college sports. Weight gain in college sports especially for women is often given a negative reaction or negative consequences. Watching SUU gymnastics meets at the centrum, makes me realize how conscious these athletes have to be in their uniforms and with others seeing their bodies. Many sports can show the importance of not gaining weight. In order to not gain weight or maintain weight, athletes might start restricting and avoiding foods.
What are eating disorder symptoms?
There are numerous eating disorder symptoms and they are often hard to spot. These are some of them to look for:
Weight loss or dieting
Refusal to eat certain types of foods
Restricting food groups
Skipping meals or decreasing portions
Avoiding activities where food is involved
Isolating from friends and family
Preoccupation with body size and weight
Obsessing over food and eating
Anxiety around food and eating
Irritability and mood swings
Fluctuations in weight
Digestive issues
Menstrual irregularities
Difficulty regulating temperature
Insomnia and sleep issues
Hair Loss
Dry skin
Weakened immune system
Excessive exercise
Loss of interest in things once previously found interesting
Drinking excessive amounts of water
Eating large quantities of food
Shame around eating
Rituals around eating
Cutting food into small pieces
Low self-esteem related to body image
Eating disorder therapy can help
Struggling with your relationship with food can become all-consuming. You start avoiding situations where food is involved. You think about food more than you would want to. It’s tough when you feel stressed and overwhelmed with your body and appearance. You desperately wish that you didn’t feel this way but that doesn’t seem to change much for you. You might feel embarrassed thinking about talking to someone about your eating issues because you are afraid of judgment or being told that there’s nothing wrong with you so why would you think you need therapy? I know it’s a scary position to be in. I also know it’s hard to know what to expect in eating disorder therapy. I also know how much eating disorder therapy could help you if you’re struggling. You don’t have to try and figure it out alone. As an eating disorder therapist, I want to help anyone that desires to feel better and will do whatever it takes. Seeing an eating disorder professional could be life-changing, and you deserve to have your life changed for the better.
Start working with an eating disorder therapist in Utah
You don’t have to keep struggling with your eating disorder. Even if you don’t think your eating concerns really meet the criteria for an eating disorder, I don’t want that to stop you from reaching out for help. You don’t have to keep living this way because you don’t think it’s bad enough. Eating disorder therapy can help you. This Utah Counseling Clinic has an eating disorder therapist specializing in treating eating disorders. To begin counseling follow the steps below:
Meet with a therapist for eating disorders
Begin eating disorder treatment
Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah
It’s important to be able to work with a therapist that specializes in treating eating disorders. Utah has many areas that don’t have an eating disorder therapist in their town. This means that in order to access therapy, you have to drive a distance to meet attend your therapy appointment. I know how inconvenient and difficult this is. This is why I offer online therapy in Utah. Online eating disorder therapy means that you don’t have to leave home to meet with an eating disorder therapist. It’s just as effective as in-person therapy and doesn’t have to interfere with your life as much. The clients I work with end up loving online eating disorder therapy.
Online counseling means I work with clients in Cedar City, St. George, Provo, Heber City, Logan, Salt Lake City, and more. I work with college students from Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, and Utah Tech University.
Other Mental Health Services Provided by Maple Canyon Therapy
Eating disorder therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided at this Utah Counseling Practice. Other mental health services offered by Maple Canyon Therapy include birth trauma therapy, EMDR therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, counseling for college students, body image therapy, and anxiety therapy. I would love to be able to help you feel better. Schedule a phone consultation to see how we can work together.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed clinical social worker specializing in eating disorder treatment at Maple Canyon Therapy in Utah. She has a bachelor's in psychology and family life and human development from Southern Utah University. Ashlee obtained her master's in social work from Utah State University. She has been working with eating disorders since she was a student therapist at USU Counseling and Psychological Service in graduate school. She believes fully recovering from an eating disorder is possible through therapy and utilizing other supports. Ashlee loves helping clients practice self-compassion and believes this is critical for healing. When Ashlee isn’t doing therapy, she enjoys riding her ebike through Southern Utah.