WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A new survey reveals more than half of college students know someone with an eating disorder, and the majority of those who have the disorders fail to seek treatment.
The 2006 survey, commissioned by the National Eating Disorders Association, polled 1,002 female and male students, mostly Caucasian, on public and private campuses across the United States. It's one of the first national surveys to focus on eating disorders on college campuses, according to NEDA.
The results suggested a troubling apathy from college students, who are becoming more and more accustomed to behaviors such as excessive dieting and vomiting, said Lynn Grefe, CEO of NEDA.
Around 20 percent of those polled admitted to personally struggling with an eating disorder at some point. More than 80 percent had dieted at some time. About 40 percent knew someone who purges by vomiting, and about 26 percent had heard of a student who used laxatives to lose weight.
"We're throwing off the curtain and showing what's going on here in the land of Oz," Grefe said. "It's a real problem."
In addition, nearly 75 percent of the respondents with eating disorders had not received or sought treatment.
"We're not getting people the help they (need)," Grefe said, "and that should be setting the alarms off on college campuses."
Grefe would like to see eating disorders specialists on staff at campuses, along with the drug and alcohol abuse counselors who are already present.
About 10 million women and 1 million men in the United States suffer from eating disorders, according to NEDA. The most common are bulimia and anorexia, the latter being the most fatal of any mental illness. Previous research has suggested more than 90 percent of people with eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25.
Eating disorders are also mental illnesses, not lifestyle choices -- a distinction Grefe worries is not communicated effectively to the public.
In fact, eating disorders are often accompanied by other mental disorders, such as depression and substance abuse. Treatment is effective and available for all of these conditions, Grefe said. For instance, an August 2006 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry suggested Internet-based intervention programs may prevent at-risk, college-aged women from developing an eating disorder.
Eating disorders, particularly in women, are often spurred by societal pressures. More than half of the survey respondents cited a pressure to be thin as the reason for the onset of their eating disorder. Other factors were stress from family and life, personal choices and mental illness.
However, a survey is not a scientific endeavor, and so these results should be viewed with some skepticism, experts say.
Dr. Katherine Halmi, who directs the eating disorders program at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains, N.Y., warned the survey does not replace a comprehensive scientific epidemiological study. Such a study is needed to properly assess eating disorders.
The survey does show there is "substantial concern" among college students over weight, diet and body image issues, Halmi added.
The survey did offer somewhat of a silver lining: More than 80 percent of those surveyed believed eating disorders will lead to major lifelong health problems.
"I was happy to know about that one," Grefe said. "We're getting (out) the message these conditions are potentially life-threatening, but the next step is for people to not be ashamed, and get help."
