Winona State University clubs sponsored activities last week to help educate and assist students on how to prevent or overcome the struggles that many face through eating disorders.

The National Eating Disorder Association makes a strong effort each year to reach out to college students who struggle with eating and body image through its Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention week, which covers the last week of February.

Winona State University kicked off the week with a Brown Bag Luncheon in the East Cafeteria. Students and faculty met for an hour to watch a short video about college women and eating disorders. Discussion questions followed, which allowed students to voice their concerns about how the media and living arrangements affect body image.

Angela Hawkinson , 21, an eating disorder survivor, speaks openly of her experiences. She wrote on e-mail about her struggles, which every student on campus received. She said, “I know how it is. It’s so hard to get help, to recover.”

Hawkinson urged students who have eating disorders or a negative body image to get help.

Hawkinson said, “The way I see it is that you can either starve yourself and miss out on your dreams or you can deal with it and continue education and achieve your goals.

“I just decided I was here to get an education, so the only choice was to recover. I don’t want to suddenly be middle-aged and not know how to live my life.”

WSU also celebrated Eating Disorder Prevention and Awareness Week throughout the week by promoting “No Weigh! A declaration of Independence from a weight-obsessed world.”

Students signed the declaration, which stated they will make an effort to listen to their bodies instead of the mandates of society. In the Smaug, additional information was provided to students throughout the week. Volunteers were available to answer questions.

Another step, pointed out to help promote positive body image, was to focus on characteristics, talents, skills and personalities rather than the physical appearance of people.

WSU’s Health Notes offered these suggestions:

•  A day without dieting

•  A personal wellness day by listening to your body, eating and exercising

•   Compliment people on their skills, talents, accomplishments — not looking at their physical shape.

•   Start the morning by looking in your mirror and say something nice to yourself.

•  Throw out all of the diet products in your room/house.

On Tuesday afternoon, a group of students and faculty had a “scale bashing” to signify freedom from weight obsession. A discussion panel and video presentation expanded on this theme in the Stark auditorium on Wednesday.

Many factors lead to the development of disordered eating. Among the college population, perfectionism and stress often combine to cause disordered eating.

Students might skip meals because they feel eating takes too much time. Other students might exercise obsessively while cutting calories in order to look like their naturally thin roommate or neighbor.

The majority of compliments women receive are based on physical appearance rather than accomplishments or skills.

Another factor in disordered eating is simply the adjustment from a predictable home life and eating with family to living in the dorms and eating in the cafeteria.

Eating disorders are classified into three general areas.

Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which a person believes that she is too fat and begins to eat very little or nothing.

Anorexia is a psychological disorder which begins to manifest itself physically. College women are especially at risk for developing anorexia because of the societal group to which they belong.

Some triggers of anorexia include high stress living conditions and the need to be in control. When a person feels that they can no longer control certain aspects of their life and can still control how they treats their body.

Bulimia is a condition where the affected person goes on secretive food binges followed by purging to get rid of the food just consumed. This disorder relates to the third eating disorder: overeating.

Overeating is characterized by continuous eating or extended binges.

Many people explain overeating as a method of coping by turning to food for comfort.

Conservative estimates in the United States say that approximately five-10 million girls and women and over one million boys and men suffer from eating disorders after hitting puberty.

These statistics do not include disordered eating, which are the habits and negative body image issues that lead to anorexia, bulimia and overeating.

The social stigma associated with disordered eating discourages many people from seeking help. Hawkinson said, “Influence of the media tells us over and over how good it is to be thin. But then they say that having an eating disorder is a mental problem. It’s seen as such a shameful thing for people to reach out for help.”

The National Eating Disorders Association reports that more than 75 percent of American women are unhappy with the way their bodies look. This is an alarmingly high statistic, since the average woman is 5’ 4”, weighs 140 pounds and wears a size 14. 

While women suffer from eating disorders most frequently, it is also common among men. Men are more reluctant to talk about their problems and might turn to excessive exercise to cope.

Winona State University participated in Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention Week to provide resources and information to those suffering from negative body image and also to people who may want to help a friend or family member.

Students can contact the Counseling Center on campus in Gildemeister Hall or by calling 457-5330 . Student services are free and confidential.

The National Eating Disorder Association has an information hotline at 1-800-931-2237 and can be accessed on the Web at www.NationalEatingDisorders.org.