Share the W.E.A.L.T.H. will recognize Eating Disorder Awareness Week in the Student Union. University Counciling Services offers support groups and help students who might be suffering from an eating disorder.
Eating disorders affect about 8 million people in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health Web site. Teens and young adults are especially vulnerable to it because of the media and the growing pressure to be perfect in a society where image is everything.
Share the W.E.A.L.T.H, a peer education group at OSU, will recognize Eating Disorder Awareness Week until Friday in the Student Union Atrium. Counselors, information on disorders, disorder screenings and referrals will be available to OSU students.
Anorexia is the most common eating disorder. People with anorexia starve themselves and lose important nutrients that their bodies need to grow and survive, leaving some with a skeletal appearance and frail body. Most people still feel they are fat or overweight after their bodies go through this transformation.
Bulimia affects 4 percent of college-aged women and men. They usually begin with binge eating — stuffing themselves with food until their bodies can’t take any more — then they purge. With bulimia, people get the necessary nutrients, yet they are causing their bodies great harm. A severe emotional event, depression or body image issues can cause bulimia and other disorders.
Students need to realize how serious bulimia and anorexia are and the effects they have on their bodies. Anorexia and bulimia are deadly.
Katie McCafferty, a junior peer educator for Share the W.E.A.L.T.H, said she knows the effects of eating disorders on a person’s life.
“People with eating disorders are aware of the fact that people notice it’s hurting your life more than benefiting it,” McCafferty said.
According to the Renfrew Center Foundation, an organization which focuses on body issues, the warning signs of a person with a possible eating disorder are negative body image, criticizing his or her eating habits or more exercise than is healthy.
These disorders can be prevented, and there is plenty of help out there.
Tamara Young, senior clinical counselor at University Counseling Services, said prevention and information on eating disorders can save lives.
“People need to be educated about the negative and often times fatal consequences of eating disorders as well as develop healthier coping strategies to deal with negative body image,” Young said.
The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders is an organization that offers support groups and self help for individuals and families affected by eating disorders, all free of charge. For more information, visit its site at http://www.anad.org.
There is also plenty of help and support on campus.
The University Counseling Services offers support groups as well as one-on-one counseling.
“We help with anything and any problem,” Young said. “If the problem is severe we will get the help that is needed to assess the situation.”
Young oversees most cases of eating disorders at OSU. Twenty-five percent of her cases deal with eating disorders, and UCS deals with around 10 percent of all eating disorder cases.
Young encouraged students to get help.
“I would present the evidence, and the potential problem and treatments that would be effective for them,” Young said.
UCS will host a body image group in the future. Contact UCS at 744-5458 for information or counseling.
Nicole Reed, a health promotions senior and peer educator with Share the W.E.A.L.T.H. said informing students about these deadly disorders is important.
“We need to bring awareness to these disorders and let them know they aren’t alone,” Reed said.
Students can contact Share the W.E.A.L.T.H. by e-mailing them at sharethewealthpeers@hotmail.com or calling them at 744-4298.
Students can also do an online screening at the University Counseling Service Web site at http://www.okstate.edu/ucs.
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