A The Battalion
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Page 3
Wednesday • February 12, 1997
eeper problems
sually underlie
ting disorders
By Kimber Huff and
Michael Schaub
The Battalion
college student sits down to
lunch with her friends. Today,
lunch consists of a small por-
n of salad and a glass of water. Im-
diately after finishing, she excuses
^•self, goes to the bathroom and in-
ces vomiting.
This is not a scene from an after-
iDr. Jane Cohen, campus nutritionist
id health education coordinator, said
any college students overemphasize
feir relationship with food and worry
(out their weight when they should fo-
ick man
iviction
(AP) — LaveleB
ier conviction
as convictedte y
ce of evidence-,:
found onarollcfi I
crime scene.
; said Davisle
ipe when he®
racticed how
:rick Fergusor
to death in
ren during a re:;
3.
tape and the —
dependent ev® 100 ! special — it is a way of life for
e defendant a'P^Y students with eating disorders,
rosecutor Alice]
arguments.
are seeking
r Davis, who was
med violence;— , , ,
robbev.He,. I“ heath ■ .
■ When iood is limited or overly ob-
' ^ n ®sed about, there is a cause for con-
omplice, Ravim <> n u
4n .» n > Cohen said.
g years |n «'pj 1 j s t yp e 0 f unhealthy obsession is
00 ln ^ l,,,: pfi ne d as an eating disorder.
1 ica ® 0 ' ^According to Dr. Debbie Rabinowitz,
Psychologist for Student Counseling
■rvices, the two most common types
Beating disorders are anorexia nervosa
■d bulimia.
lighs & LOWS Rabinowitz said bulimics have a ten
ancy to binge and purge,
ay’s Expectedfl! ‘‘Most often they purge by throw-
53°F §g U P’ but also by using laxatives,”
pbinowitz said. ‘‘Even exercise can
?ht’s Expecteibe a type of purging, when people eat
38°F P° cookies and then think they have
1 run five miles.”
Rabinowitz said one effect of bulimia is
egularity of hormones and metabolism.
Anorexics, on the other hand, are of
ten so obsessed with weight that they
Snake extreme restrictions on their diet,
often cutting down to a few foods.
“They have this fear of getting fat
at consumes them,” Rabinowitz said.
Cohen said anorexics do not make
their food choices based on lack of
knowledge.
1 “Anorexics know a lot about food
choices,” Cohen said. “Sometimes
anorexics are perfectionists and food is
Something they can control, so they use
Hinstead of focusing on other problems
i they can’t solve.”
■ Rabinowitz said possible effects of
anorexia include starvation and loss of the
monthly menstrual cycle for females.
■ Both types of eating disorders re-
■rict the number of calories consumed,
jausing the victim to become tired and
itable, said Cohen.
Some people who have eating disor-
^rs fit a profile, Rabinowitz said.
“Eating disorders definitely occur
more in women. Well over 90 to 95 per-
Pnt are in women,” Rabinowitz said.
|Uood disorders are often associated
iith eating disorders, depression in
prticular. It's not always true, but it’s a
[eater than normal percentage.”
Cohen said students with eating dis-
tortow’sf
48°F
vV\ l
to l
v
Having a weight problem
means battling compulsion,
society's negative stereotypes
FA ~
TALL WEST
PM
15 PM
•M
orders sometimes say they have no con
trol over their lives, so they control the
only thing they can — food.
“The focus should be on what’s caus
ing the problem,” Cohen said. “The
food is the tip of the iceberg.”
Rabinowitz said people with eating
disorders often have distorted images
of themselves.
“Eating disorders are disorders of
the self, of how they perceive them
selves,” Rabinowitz said. “The re
striction (of diet) and the purging are
the over-symptoms. What is under
neath all that? A need for control, de
pression family issues, difficulty in
romantic relationships.”
Sarah Ragan, a junior nutritional sci
ence major, is a member of Aggie
R.E.A.C.H., a peer education organiza
tion that focuses on sexual and nutri
tional health.
Ragan said because the problem of
ten goes deeper than the actual eating
disorder, victims should see a dietitian,
a doctor and a psychologist.
Rabinowitz said if a student suspects
a friend has an eating disorder, he or she
should be supportive and open in ex
pressing his or her concern.
“Encourage them to come to a place
like Student Counseling Services and
talk,” Rabinowitz said. “But you have to
be careful not to take on all the respon
sibility for this person. Ultimately, each
person is responsible for themselves.
You have to have patience.”
Ragan, who has a close friend with
anorexia nervosa, said if a student
knows someone with an eating disor
der, he or she should attempt to under
stand the problem.
See Eating, Page 4
S ome peo
ple get
stickers.
Others get a
high-five and a
pat on the back.
But whenever I
was successful
in my potty
training en
deavors, I was
rewarded with a
Hershey’s
Chocolate Kiss.
To this day, my mom
jokes that if she had given
me a celery or carrot stick
instead, I might not have
had a weight problem lat
er in life.
Weight has not always
been an issue for me. Old
family photos portray me
as a wiry little girl with un
ruly red hair and thick
glasses, but a lot has
changed in the past 15
years. I have since discov
ered Salon Selectives and
entered the wonderful
world of contacts. But now
I have a weight problem.
Although there seems
to be a cultural stereotype
that overweight people are
lazy and do not know the
first thing about exercise,
this is not always true.
Compulsive overeating,
like anorexia nervosa or
bulimia, is classified as an
eating disorder. While
some people exercise,
sleep or read when they
are lonely or stressed out, I
turn to the only comfort I
know: food.
Some people seem to
think an overweight person
should strive hard to lose
weight and get in shape.
While it is true that nothing
is accomplished without
hard work and determina
tion, some people fail to re
alize that people who
overeat have a problem
that goes far beyond the
usual craving for chocolate.
Many of us have
splurged and eaten a
whole pint of chocolate
chunk ice cream in one
sitting, but how many
people can say they have
eaten a whole gallon in
their room, hoping to
God no one walks in? It
may sound a little far
fetched, but many com
pulsive overeaters have
been there. Done that.
Columnist
Melissa Price
Senior journalism
major
Got the T-shirt.
One doesn’t
have to look far
to realize we
live in a society
that values
thin, beautiful
people. Most
men would
agree that
Cindy Craw
ford or Demi
Moore is more
attractive than
Ricki Lake, and
most women would say
Tom Cruise is a better
catch than John Good
man. From billboards to
television, we are bom
barded with daily images
proclaiming that thin and
healthy is “in.”
Although anyone can
lose weight if they put
their mind to it, it remains
to be said that a person
cannot lose weight unless
they want to. No matter
how much a person may
want a loved one to lose
weight, no amount of love
or support will ensure an
other person will do it. If
one wants to help a friend
or loved one lose weight,
they should offer to be
their workout partner and
encourage their friend to
go to the gym as much as
possible.
It is upsetting to think
some people still judge
others by the way they
look. However, the fact
that we base our judg
ments of others on how
much they weigh or what
they look like is a part of
life that is not likely to
change anytime soon.
As we search for poten
tial mates, we do not walk
up to someone of the op
posite sex and say, “Hey
baby! I dig your personali
ty, even though you look
like you just got run over
by a truck. Wanna go out?”
As an overweight per
son in a society so con
cerned with looks, it is still
difficult for me to under
stand why some are so
cruel to overweight peo
ple. I have been in a club
many times and heard,
“Hey baby, he wants you!”
— knowing it is only a
joke. Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but
words will always hurt me.
3tfac£ Acvarenegg Cottwittee and/VAACP^n-e^ent..,
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