Body Image Concerns
Many students may have concerns about their diet, weight, and attractiveness. These concerns may lead to students having unhealthy preoccupations with their body and eating habits. This can affect their self-esteem, well-being, and energy levels. When preoccupations become serious, they can lead to significant health problems.
Eating problems fall within a broad spectrum of eating-related feelings, attitudes, and behaviors and can be painful and frightening. The first step to overcoming an eating problem is acknowledging that you have a problem. An important aspect of this is realizing that eating behaviors and distressed feelings are impacting your food choices and other aspects of your life.
Treatment for body image concerns at Columbia Health may consist of short-term individual psychotherapy, group counseling, nutrition counseling, and medical monitoring. These proven methods can effectively prevent, reduce, or stop troublesome behaviors while helping you develop new, positive ways of coping with underlying feelings.
Common eating disorders
Anorexia nervosa (often simply called anorexia) is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted perception of weight or shape. People with anorexia use extreme efforts to control their weight and shape, which often significantly interferes with their health and life activities.
People with anorexia excessively limit their calorie-intake or use other methods to lose weight, such as excessive exercise, using laxatives or diet aids, or vomiting after eating.
Anorexia affects three to four percent of college students, with the prevalence highest among young women.
Bulimia nervosa (commonly called bulimia) is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder. People with bulimia have episodes of bingeing and purging that involve them feeling a lack of control over their eating. Many people with bulimia also restrict their eating during the day, which often leads to more binge eating and purging.
During these episodes of bingeing and purging, people with bulimia typically eat a large amount of food in a short time and then try to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way. Because of guilt, shame, and an intense fear of weight gain from overeating, people with bulimia may force vomiting (purging bulimia), exercise too much, or use other methods, such as laxatives, to get rid of calories (non-purging bulimia). People with bulimia are preoccupied with their weight and body shape and may judge themselves severely and harshly for perceived flaws.
Bulimia affects three to four percent of college students, with the prevalence highest among young women.
People with binge-eating disorder regularly eat too much food (binge) and feel a lack of control over their eating habits. They may eat quickly or eat more food than intended, even when not hungry, and may continue eating even long after being uncomfortably full.
After a binge, they may feel guilty, disgusted, or ashamed over the amount of food eaten. But unlike someone with bulimia or anorexia, those with binge-eating disorder don't try to compensate for this behavior with excessive exercise or purging. Instead, embarrassment can lead to eating alone to hide bingeing. A new round of bingeing usually occurs at least once a week.
Get Connected to Care
If you believe you have a body image concern, please schedule an appointment with Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) to speak with one of our mental health providers on the Eating Disorders (ED) team.