The media is all about health and fitness—every type of social medium is posting ideas on how to stay thin, burn more calories in less time or “eat less without feeling hungry.” Women especially, are targeted to meet unrealistic measures when it comes to their weight—constantly seeing super slim celebrities competing with each other to win the title of the “slimmest body.” The result isn’t a healthier population—but a terrifying statistic.
Two-thirds of women in the United States suffer from disordered eating, a condition in which a person doesn’t have a defined eating disorder, like anorexia or bulimia, but harbors an unhealthy relationship with their body image and food.
Food has become the enemy to many young college women.
“Studies done here at (Michigan State University) indicate that even though 70 percent of MSU students are at their recommended weight, over 40 percent of those are still trying to lose weight,” Ronda Bokram of Olin Health Center’s Health Education Department said in an interview via e-mail.
“Almost 18 percent of MSU students indicated that concerns with their personal appearance was traumatic for them in the past year,” Bokram added.
Restricting your calories can be dangerous enough, but when you take in the fact that a lot of young women partake in physical activity as well—the risk for injury and illness increase greatly.
According to an article in Women’s Running Magazine, Dr. Carol Otis, a sports medicine physician, says women who don’t consume
adequate amounts of fuel for training are potentially deficient in essential minerals, therefore forcing their body to break down lean muscle mass.
Not only can this negatively affect performance, it also can have physical and psychological effects, according to the article.
For athletes with disordered eating—there are many risks involved.
“Loss of menses, stress fracture, osteoporosis, loss of muscle mass and certainly energy storage in muscle for exercising; cardiac arrest, malnutrition, hair loss and poor immune function/healing,” said Bokram.
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While eating “super healthy” may seem like the way to stay thin and ultra-fit, there is such a condition as “righteous eating, the ‘too healthy’ eating,” said Bokram.
Disordered eating along with other eating disorders are not just prominent on college campuses. Those in the dietetics profession also struggle with their body image.
According to the article in Women’s Running Magazine, a 31-year-old registered dietician suffered “cracking bones,” in her case, chin splints, while restricting her calories to just 1,500 in midst of training for a marathon.
“I’m a dietician, so I knew the consequences of just barely eating enough to get by,” Glassman said, according to the article.
Disordered eating is a problem—a dangerous one at that, partly due to its subtlety. Those who suffer from the condition often seem to eat a rather healthy diet—but often look for ways to skip out on extra calories, like not refueling after a grueling workout.
A huge key in getting right with your body is to try and stay focused on what the primary purpose of eating right and working out is—to stay healthy.
If you think someone you know has/may have an eating disorder, don’t be afraid to talk to him or her.
Here are some steps that may help you, provided by Bokram:
- It is OK to confront someone that you have an honest concern about them
- Talk in a very supportive, empathic, caring manner
- Give examples of why you have concerns
- Use “I” statements; avoid accusing “you” statements
- Have resources available to share with the individual
- Understand your limits in terms of helping the individual
- Don’t promise not to tell anyone
- Offer to go with the individual to seek out help
- IF the person denies that there is a problem, remember to not take it personally. It can be quite scary to even think about giving up the disorder
- Continue to talk with and participate in activities with the person, but refuse to get into discussion about weight, food, and body image issues
- Seek out help for yourself; it is difficult to watch someone you care about go through this