Scholar, EDRS dispel eating disorder myths

Stephanie Damon-Moore Assistant Life Editor

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I feel fat”? On Thursday, Nov. 1, therapist and eating disorder expert Sharon Rebell asked Vassar students the same question during a discussion of body image and eating disorders.

Rebell reminded her audience members, all of whom admitted to sometimes “feeling fat,” that “fat is not a feeling.” She said that body image problems arise most often during periods of transition, such as late in high school and throughout college. Rebell attributed the correlation between poor body image and major transitions to identity formation.

“People who have forged an identity don’t have to look in the mirror and say ‘I feel fat,’” she said. “If you have an identity other than a physical identity, then you are so far ahead of the game.”

Body-image issues seem to be a given in today’s image-centered society, but Rebell said that the situation was not a necessary evil. Rebell illustrated that physical standards in the media, especially in advertising, are increasingly impossible to reach. When Marilyn Monroe was setting the standard 50 years ago, she was 5’5” and a size 12. Today, the standard has been distorted to 5’10,” size 2.

“There’s no way we can measure up because these people have been so air-brushed, so edited,” said Rebell. She also explained that it’s not just images that are edited; it’s the women themselves. Models and actors frequently feel that they must undergo plastic surgery and severe diets to find work.

Statistics from the National Eating Disorder Association show that dieting is ineffective 95 percent of the time and that most people have a weight “set point” that one can alter healthily by only about 10 pounds.

Moe Byrne ’11 attended the discussion partly because she has had friends with eating disorders.

“I came from a place where you had to be a size 2. Here, I don’t think body image is that much of an issue…it’s more your intellect, or your talent,” Byrne said.

Byron Bartlett ’11 also described Vassar as a more open environment than his high school, where “there was a lot of consciousness about body image, lots of superficialities. Here, I wouldn’t say it’s entirely gone, but I think the message is sent out about diversity, encouraging acceptance.”

However, in light of a recent American College Health Association survey about eating disorders and disordered eating, Dr. Irena Balawajder of Baldwin Health Services consented that “Vassar was not that much different from the national average.”
Balawajder said that Baldwin receives about 50 to 60 visits for eating problems each year, and between two and five students normally leave campus each year because of eating disorders.

Students with serious eating disorders are advised to seek treatment off campus, but students whose conditions present less urgent health risks have many resources on campus.

“The campus has been educated about it, students as well as staff, faculty and administration,” said nurse practitioner Anne Dadarria. “People concerned about students who might have eating disorders at any level, whether through the health service, counseling, the gym, in the residential life area—we usually connect together and try to get that person services.”

Vassar students who seek treatment for eating disorders receive three different kinds of treatment: They get medical treatment at Baldwin Health Services for diagnosis and treatment of physical side effects, consultation with a nutritionist who comes to Vassar monthly, and counseling.

Another resource, Vassar’s Eating Disorder Reachout Service (EDRS), is a student group that works to raise awareness about eating disorders and provides peer support for students with related concerns.

One issue that EDRS peer counselors are often asked about is how to talk to a friend who has an eating disorder. EDRS co-presidents Marni Grossman ’08 and Sarah Rogers ’08 advised students to approach the conversation in a non-confrontational way, and listen to their friend.

“Don’t accuse; approach the issue as a caring individual,” Rogers said.

“Usually there’s an underlying psychological illness,” Rogers explained, “so listening to all their problems is a lot more helpful than just talking about their eating.”

EDRS is also working to dispel the stereotype of eating disorders as a disease of the wealthy white woman. Today, men make up about 10 percent of people with eating disorders, according to the National Eating Disorder Association, and that percentage is growing.

Rogers and Grossman do not consider Vassar liberated from body image issues. A survey that EDRS administered last year showed that 7.6 percent of Vassar students who responded either had or were in recovery from an eating disorder, and about two-thirds had dieted.

“I think we like to all think that we’re too smart for this…not so much,” Grossman said.

Although EDRS recognizes the biological factors that contribute to eating disorders, Grossman echoed Rebell’s attitude that the media negatively affects people struggling to maintain a healthy body image.

“I think there’s a tendency to negate cultural responsibility,” Grossman said, referring to the cultural patterns Rebell identified as constructing an untenable ideal body type. Dadarria added, “Many cultures don’t have eating disorders at all.”

In order to escape from the cycles of poor body image and disordered eating, Rebell, Grossman and Rogers said that Americans need to look critically at the standards we have set for ourselves and rise above what advertisements and other forms of media tell Americans they should look like.

As Rebell put it, “This is a body, and it’s the only body you’ve got.”

Helping a Friend
It can be difficult to know how best to approach a friend with an eating disorder, but the following steps are a good place to begin:

1. Talk to a professional. Make an appointment with a member of the Vassar College Counseling Service staff or contact a peer counselor with EDRS.

2. Talk to your friend. Focus on your concerns about their health, not their weight or appearance. Explain how the problem is affecting your relationship. Mention that eating disorders can be treated successfully.

3. Realize that you may be rejected. Those with eating disorders often deny their problem because they’re afraid to admit that they’re out of control. Don’t take it personally and try to end the conversation on an open and positive note.

4. Know your limits. Recognize that you are not a counselor or a food monitor. If you sense that you’re getting angry or impatient, back off.

Source: The American College Health Association