Health concerns at Princeton: Student group addresses eating disorders

Though it is impossible to gauge how many University students suffer from eating disorders, one campus group is striving to do what it can to educate and counsel peers about the dangers of the diseases.

Courtney Weiner '01, an eating concerns peer educator, helped conduct a study during her freshman year and concluded that of the 500 students surveyed, 25 percent had a type of eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

Weiner witnessed problems with eating disorders firsthand while attending an all-female high school.

Now, as an eating concerns peer educator, she said she and other members of the group are working to "change the concept of women and body at the University."

Weiner said she and the other peer educators attempt to better inform students about eating disorders by speaking to residential advising groups and by providing advice and counseling for friends of students who may suffer from the diseases.

"We're sort of the foot soldiers of the group, educating people in the most casual settings," she said. "In general, it's all about spreading positive energy."

All of the group's 15 peer educators are women, Weiner said. Students interested in becoming peer educators must write an essay about eating disorders and then are interviewed by counselors from McCosh Health Center or by other peer educators.

Weiner, who became a peer educator this year, said she and other members receive a semester of training before joining the group.

"It's a very intensive [training] process," she said. "We learn about the dangers of the disease. We have nutritionists, counselors, doctors, athletic trainers talk to us, basically to bring us up to speed on the issues."

Weiner said the peer educators are planning a "Body Acceptance Fair" that will be held in April. The event will attempt to raise students' sensitivity to the seriousness of eating disorders.

Peer educator Tzivia Friedman '02 said events like the fair can help some students develop a more positive self image. "We're trying to change the way the media portrays body images," she said. "We want to combat stereotypes and make people more accepting."

Friedman emphasized that she and other peer educators encourage victims of eating disorders to seek professional counseling. "We don't have Ph.Ds in psychology, but what we can do is provide moral support and help people get the help they need," she said.

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Along with a team of professionals from the McCosh counseling center and the health field, Susan Packer — associate director and senior clinical psychologist at the counseling center — supervises the eating concerns peer educators.

Packer said she believes that the University environment affects the way students deal with food.

"My impression is that people who come to any elite university are vulnerable because they are so driven to achieve, and the atmosphere of Princeton reinforces that," she said. "It doesn't cause eating disorders, but it definitely contributes to it."

Physical effects

According to Joyce Sissman, a family practitioner, anorexia naturally leads to malnutrition — which, in turn, can cause a disruption of the menstrual cycle in females and a loss of muscle and other body proteins in all people.

Sissman added that anorexics are also more likely to develop osteoporosis, the most common type of metabolic bone disease in the United States. Osteoporosis occurs when the body fails to form enough new bone or when the body absorbs too much of its old bone. If a person does not consume enough calcium, bone production and bone tissues may suffer, resulting in brittle, fragile bones that are subject to fractures.

Anorexia can also lead to abnormal growth of lanugo — a covering of fine, soft hair — along with dizziness, fainting spells and heart problems because the starving body will use the protein from the organ to feed itself.

Bulimia also adversely affects the body, Sissman warned. In addition to causing swollen salivary glands and puffiness in the cheeks, bulimia can also lead to broken blood vessels under the eyes because of forced and frequent vomiting. The high acidity of the vomit can also cause tooth decay and receding gums. Bulimia can bring about sore throats, fatigue, muscle aches and frequent weight fluctuations.