Food and Body Image

Body image and food issues are prevalent on campus, as adolescence and early adulthood are two peak times for the onset of these problems. Arising from a combination of emotional, psychological, and social conditions which include:

• poor self-image
• depression
• anxiety
• loneliness
• difficult family relationships
• challenges in personal relationships
• cultural pressures to be thin and/or extremely fit

90% of reported cases are female, and there is a significant increase in eating disorders in males. People may use food, weight, exercise, purging, dieting, and/or the abuse of laxatives, diuretics, or steroids to exert control over their lives, handle stress, and avoid or minimize feelings of failure, depression or anxiety. Some people have a distorted sense of their body image. This is called dysmorphia, characterized by the person thinking/believing they are shaped differently than they truly are. The socio-cultural pressure to conform to unrealistic and unhealthy standards of weight and size, and even fitness level, encourage destructive dieting and body image problems, both of which are associated with and are precursors to eating disorders.

Why Help?

How Do I Know There’s a Problem?

Eating Disorder Descriptions

How to Help

Resources

FAQ’s