The Hawk

Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: News

Students learn easy ways to eat healthy in their dorm rooms.

An estimated 10 percent of female college students suffer from a clinical or sub-clinical eating disorder. One out of every ten people with an eating disorder is male. Excessive preoccupation with food, dieting, and eating habits is something that permeates college campuses on a day to day basis. It is almost impossible to not have known someone, heard of a friend's problem, or suffered personally from an eating disorder. Since many people are embarrassed or secretive about their illness, young people are often blind to the seriousness of the issue.

During the upcoming week from Feb. 19 - 23, students will be taught to be conscious of disorders, how to identify them and how to help themselves and others on the path to healthy eating. Sponsored by the Student Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Athletic Department and the Living Learning Center, Eating Disorder Awareness Week hopes to target all areas of student life. On Monday Feb. 19, Dr. Sally Black will presenting an instructive lecture in Merion Gardens about helpful ways to eating well while living in a dorm or on campus. On Tuesday, Karen Botto will instruct a yoga class focusing on calmness and self-acceptance. Wednesday will focus on athletes and specific eating habits tailored for different sports and practices. During free period on Thursday, Wendy Cramer will be presenting a lecture on how to recognize, acknowledge, and aid those who are presently suffering from the disease. The week concludes with Fearless Friday, a day without dieting or the stresses of worrying about what to eat.

While the week's sponsors collaborate in order to best serve the St. Joe's campus, they all focus on different aspects of eating in regards to its affects on the student. Females, both in and out of college are often unrealistic about weight. Male college students are often overly concerned with diet and exercising, whether for athletics or mere body image. Laura Hurst, director of the Student Health Center, said that while she is worried about the problems of medically acknowledged diseases such as anorexia and bulimia, she is more concerned with the problem of irregular eating and unhealthy dieting. Although students may not fit into the defined categories of diseases, says Hurst, many practice unhealthy living patterns. Rapid weight loss or gain, as well as spontaneous dieting, is often harder to cure because the student rarely characterizes him or herself as having an eating disorder.

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