Eating Disorder Awareness Week is kicking off with many events to help promote recognition of the issues at hand.
Activities will include a talk from Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008, and a former anorexia sufferer, and daily eating attitude screenings.
Dr. Felicia Greher, the assistant clinical coordinator for CU Counseling Services and eating disorder coordinator, said college is a key time to focus on body image.
“We know that both men and women college students struggle with eating disorders,” Greher said. “College is a critical time for students to become educated on it.”
The nationwide Eating Disorder Awareness Week runs Monday through Friday. CU holds events every day of the week, sponsored by Counseling and Psychological Services, the CU Parent’s Association, Wardenburg Health Center, Eating Disorder Center of Denver, Eating Recovery Center and Luna Bar.
Greher said she expects students to learn about their resources and talk about the struggles of body image.
“We want to help [students] become more aware of resources,” Greher said. “Mostly, we’re hoping to create a dialogue on the spectrum of eating disorders and inform students that they can become advocates for prevention.”
Resources include complementary eating attitude screenings from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the UMC each weekday this week. Other events include a talk from Haglund on Tuesday, a showing of the documentary ”America the Beautiful: Is America Obsessed with Beauty?” on Wednesday and a Thursday presentation on helping someone with an eating disorder.
Greher said she predicts the speech by Haglund and the documentary showing will draw the most crowds.
Courtney Hibbs, a 19-year-old freshman psychology and pre-med major, said she thinks models influence college girls.
“It’s a silent epidemic in the U.S.,” Hibbs said. “They see models and think clothes should look like that on them. There’s the positive associated with being skinny and the negative associated with gaining weight.”
Sarah Becker, an 18-year-old freshman integrated physiology major, said she thinks the situation in Colorado is more extreme than in other states.
“In comparison to other states, Colorado is a state that works out more,” Becker said. “It’s a culture shock to out-of-staters.”
Becker said she thinks the transition of entering college causes insecurities that could evolve into eating disorders.
“When you come in, it’s a lot of transition,” Becker said. “A lot of people could get insecure about it. The dining hall isn’t up to par, so there are other ways to go.”
Entering a new state or new college can build additional stress on students. According to the Eating Disorder Foundation, 31 percent of female college students suffer from eating disorders.
Bree Lewis, a 20-year-old sophomore environmental studies major, said she agrees that being alone in college can lead to problems.
“In college, when you’re not with your parents, you develop bad habits,” Lewis said. “It should be focused on if CU sees a lot of problems with it. I’ve seen problems a couple times.”
According to the Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness, an estimated 10 to 15 percent of people with anorexia or bulimia are male.
Jon Tattum, a 20-year-old junior news-editorial major, said the issue is not a big deal to him, but could be to other students.
“It doesn’t personally affect me,” Tattum said. “I’m sure there are many male and female students that would like to check it out.”
CU’s week-long awareness focuses not only on college students, but the community as well. Staff members and Boulder businesspeople are welcome to attend any of the events.
Hibbs said developing a strong body image now helps students in the future.
“I think it’s important to have a strong body image in college because it sets forth a strong body image for life,” Hibbs said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jennifer Retter at Jennifer.retter@colorado.edu.
