Opinion Graphic
Many people experience the occasional surge of motivation to make healthier choices in their lives, perhaps in the form of a New Year’s resolution to get into shape. However, at times, this is taken up a notch too high when the fancy to look like a runway model turns into an obsession. Having not faced this issue, though I have tried to inculcate a healthier lifestyle quite a few times, I have never felt it perpetually consuming my thoughts. Since this obsession is often fueled by the alarmingly high amount of importance society places on adhering to its predefined standards of “looking attractive,” the fact that, according to a newsletter from New Student Programs, 30 percent of NC State students have an eating disorder is unsurprising.
There are three main categories of eating disorders — anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating. Though men are increasingly becoming prone to these disorders, 90 percent of sufferers are females within the ages of 14 and 18. Anorexia, affecting one percent of the female adolescent population, makes people believe they don’t have a frame small enough to be categorized as visually appealing. They dangerously cut down their consumption of food to the point of starvation to reduce body mass, so the most striking symptom of anorexia is a sudden decrease in weight.
Binge eating disorder (BED) is the intake of unhealthily large amounts of food, and bulimia is a condition where this is followed by actions like self-induced vomiting to prevent weight gain, accompanied by guilt trips. Around 3 percent of adolescent females are bulimic. Critical physical complications like heart disease and osteoporosis can arise with a steady continuation of these practices due to the unbearable strain put on the body.
All of these disorders involve a distorted self-perception of body image along with the refusal to accept something not being right. As the preoccupation of maintaining a lightweight figure stems from an inaccurate representation of the human body by some media, these disorders are driven by the crippling fear of being heavy.
Girls as little as five years of age are under the impression that they need to be unfeasibly skinny to appear desirable and beautiful — that’s exactly the sort of message that is conveyed to them. They remain insecure about their bodies well into adolescence; self-esteem hits rock bottom at the ages of 12 through 15, and they feel the need to take drastic measures to unnecessarily change their appearances. Much of this mindset could be highly improved if advertisements featuring celebrities could take it easy on the editing and Photoshop.
Last semester, NC State brought a non-profit organization called Southern Smash to campus, which held a Smash Talk Session to urge men and women to redefine their worth and physical appearances. Students attached their ideal numbers to balloons and let them go to symbolize setting their insecurities free. They also had the opportunity to actually “smash” scales using sledgehammers and baseball bats.
A part of me would wonder how people couldn’t tell from looking at their own reflections that they were ridiculously underweight (and not how they actually perceived themselves), or how hard it could be to just eat something whenever I read articles about anorexic and bulimic patients. Later, I realized that it was a constant battle between being hungry and worrying about being hungry.
Women aren’t the only ones, though — men who aim to assume a more masculine profile are likely to develop BED if they think they’re underweight, and anorexia nervosa if they think they’re overweight, since they feel pressured into being lean and muscular.
People who are diagnosed with eating disorders are more susceptible to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, as well. The overwhelming frustration is often let out through self-harming tendencies, and could even lead to suicide in extreme cases.
Furthermore, after starting college, the stress that comes from the pressure to do well in academics, or even from being homesick can cause several relapses, prolonging recovery time and making this problem harder to tackle. At home, parents can keep an eye on their kids and watch out for unusual activity. But, when students live on campus, they’re on their own, so it is easier to get away with adverse weight loss habits.
Before my first semester at NC State, I heard quite a lot about the Freshman 15 — the notion of students gaining about 15 pounds in their first year at university. Fear of this much-dreaded idea also makes people conscious about their looks. If a friend seems to mysteriously disappear right after meals, or claim that they’ve already eaten before meals on more than a few occasions, they may be suffering from an eating disorder.
Though it’s impossible for someone who hasn’t experienced them to imagine what they’re really like, I think too many people dismiss eating disorders as “pessimistic approaches to life” caused by “wanting what is not,” or simply ways to seek attention. There are yet others who wrongly romanticize the whole concept of being physically unfit — social media is usually where this happens.
I can’t scroll through Instagram or Tumblr without coming across a monochromatic abstract with a quote on anorexia or bulimia in intricate handwriting, and thousands of others leaving comments like “Yes, this is me, no one else gets it” with heart emojis, almost as if it’s elite and heroic to be in a tragically misunderstood clique.
There is nothing cool or quirky about struggling just to make it out of bed every morning. Posts of that kind might encourage healthy individuals to start abusing their bodies in an effort to be considered unique.
It’s a good idea for those who go through these conditions to ask for help. Various options of treatment like medication and therapy offer a decent chance of feeling better. Resources on campus include the NC State Counseling Center at the Student Health Services. Eating disorders are real psychiatric illnesses which need to be addressed and not brushed aside, praised or envied. That being said, there are definitely healthier and more rewarding ways to get in shape — Carmichael Gym is an excellent place to start. There are many options like sports and indoor training available which can help achieve fitness goals without threatening mental and physical wellbeing.