Paula Abdul, Fiona Apple, Victoria Beckham, Kate Beckinsale, Kelly Clarkson and Princess Diana all have one thing in common.
All of these women struggled with and overcame an eating disorder.
Feb. 21 marks the beginning of National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, bringing attention to something usually kept behind closed doors.
"Warning signs may be hard to see because individuals are often very secretive about eating disorder behaviors," said Jenna Silverman, senior staff clinician at the Auburn University Student Counseling Services. "But some of the signs that are easier to notice include spending an excessive amount of time exercising, avoiding eating in front of other people or social activities including food, hiding food to binge on later, wearing oversized clothes to hide one's body, making excuses for skipping meals and using a lot of appetite suppressants."
Because of ethical limitations on the study of eating disorders, not much is known about how they develop and what the exact causes of them are.
Annette Kluck, assistant professor, said some of the things people believe may contribute to the development of eating disorders include genetics, dieting, poor body image and media influence.
"Having peers who engage in problematic eating may increase risk, having family members who engage in problematic eating may increase risk, but again, there is no way to say with absolute certainty what causes eating disorders," Kluck said.
Eating disorders have many side effects, Kluck said, the most severe being death.
"The suicide rate among individuals with anorexia is very high," Kluck said. "It actually has the highest mortality rate of any psychological disorder."
Kluck also said the changes that can happen during purging behaviors can cause electrolyte imbalance, decreased potassium level, teeth erosion, malnourishment, loss of menstrual cycle, loss of hair and even the gaining of body hair.
In order to prevent the development of eating disorders, Silverman said moderation is key.
"Instead of going to extremes with diet and exercise, try for a balance of many different food types in modest amounts and throughout the day," Silverman said. "Our bodies are more likely to be at a healthy weight when we have a steady source of energy. Too little sends our bodies into starvation mode and lowers our metabolism as well as make it more likely for us to overeat later in the day."
Silverman said finding a type of exercise that is enjoyable is also important, because sticking with it becomes easier when it is fun, rather than punishment for the body.
The trend toward "healthy living," along with the media, is a driving factor behind the prevalence of eating disorders.
According to nationaleatingdisorders.org, 42 percent of 1st through 3rd grade girls want to be thinner; 91 percent of women recently surveyed on a college campus had attempted to control their weight through dieting, with 22 percent dieting "often" or "always;" and 35 percent of "normal dieters" progressing to pathological dieting, with 20 to 25 percent of those progressing to partial or full syndrome eating disorders.
"There has been increased pressure on both men and women to be 'healthy' which is often confused with being underweight," Silverman said. "Each person's healthy body weight and size is different and what is healthy weight for one person is unhealthy for another. Remember that physical health is not just based on what you eat, but also on lifestyle including alcohol and substance use, activity level and stress management."
Silverman also said people should be aware that a lot of money is tied up in convincing people they need different "diet" products, from gym memberships to diet pills.
For students who are worried that they or someone they know may have a disorder, options are available.
Silverman and Kluck both suggested visiting the Student Counseling Services, where they can help figure out what is going on and offer treatment option.
If an intervention with a friend is needed, Silverman suggests doing it in a private place and to express concerns gently.
"Be sure to give him or her support for how she might be feeling," Silverman said. "Be prepared that this person may respond with anger or denial at the time, but may later appreciate your effort and care."
For National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, AUBIE EDA will be co-sponsoring the Love Your Body Day, which focuses on appreciation for all body types, and other events during the week.
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