University Business - July 2008 - (Page 43)

medical director of the Duke Eating Disorders Program. Additionally, some students get labeled with more than one diagnosis in the course of a year. They may be classiﬁed as “underweight” at one point and then “anorexic” later on. In fact, the diagnostic threshold for eating disorders as found in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, known commonly as DSM-IV—which includes anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating—has been criticized for being too restrictive, since the majority of people actually suﬀer from a larger spectrum of disordered eating known as EDNOS (eating disorder not otherwise speciﬁed). “Many students have disordered eating but don’t have an eating disorder,” says Amy Alson, an internist and psychiatrist at the Elson Student Health Center at the University of Virginia. She says there is a spectrum of disordered eating. “Everybody at some point overeats or stops eating as a result of emotional stress. It’s a coping mechanism, and for some people it’s a phase. For others it’s a lifelong struggle.” Understanding the College Environment Providing Help The college environment has been called a breeding ground for eating disorders. The close living quarters, combined with easy and constant access to food, competition for grades, and other factors, can make students vulnerable to eating disorders. Big life transitions can also set them oﬀ. “Other than puberty, leaving home for college is the next big transition,” says Ron Thompson, a private practice psychologist and NCAA consultant to the athletic department at Indiana University. Additionally, he says that “college tends to draw brighter, more competitive, and perfectionist types of people.” Many students also come to college with eating disorders that were diagnosed in high school or earlier. Up to 10 percent of children have eating disorders by age 10 or younger, according to ANAD, the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders. Leaders at many IHEs are working hard to create nurturing, protective, and accepting environments for students with eating and body image issues. While institutions have their own ways of supporting students, most health experts agree that the key to eﬀective eating disorder counseling and education is a student-centered, multidisciplinary approach. Eating disorder teams that include nutritionists, physicians, and counselors—all of whom oﬀer a distinct perspective and expertise—are a common approach. But there are obstacles to overcome with this kind of approach. “Diﬀerent institutions have diﬀerent levels of services and resources available to accommodate their students,” says Sangvai at Duke, which has an on-campus, in-patient eating disorders treatment center. “Schools like Duke that are aﬃliated with a big medical center nearby often have more resources and can thereby provide more resources for students.” Additionally, some institutions’ student insurance policies are more comprehensive in coverage than others. “A student can say, ‘I am willing to get help,’ but the real trick is to ﬁnd medical help they can aﬀord,” Sangvai says. Some IHEs are being creative with limited resources. Health oﬃcials at Fordham, for example, tout the university’s counseling resources but make it known that it’s not a treatment center. “We’re not looking to treat patients as if we were an in-patient psychiatric unit. We’re really here to help them stay on track and complete their education in a safe way,” Malara says. In her eight years at Fordham, Malara has formed an eating disorder committee made up of nutritionists and counselors to monitor students’ eating disorders. She has also created a statement of expectations for students to sign before they begin counseling. “They must agree to be counseled, see a nutritionist, and seek further help if their weight drops or if they fall oﬀ course,” she says. The statement’s purpose is twofold: it empowers the student to take ownership for managing his or her health and gives the university “a safety net if students don’t comply,” she says. Students don’t have to sign the statement of expectations, but most do. “When someone comes From doorknob hangers and informational flyers at Cornell to health center magazine stories at Duke, healthy body image messaging can help. universitybusiness.com July 2008 | 43 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July 2008

University Business - July 2008
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Money Matters
Financial Aid
Human Resources
Students in Need, Schools at the Ready
Security Officers Speak Out
Advancement Goes Digital
A New Day for NASFAA
Sustainable Admissions
What's New
End Note

University Business - July 2008