At Syracuse University, as on any college campus, eating disorders and body image are real issues, especially for women.

Part of the problem is determining when dieting and exercise go too far and become the negative results of a poor body image.

An SU club called Body Related Issues Discussion Group Education and Support addresses the idea of body image and provides students with information to help identify the characteristics of poor self-esteem or body issues, said BRIDGES founder Liz Worden Collins, a sophomore environmental resources and forest engineering major.

‘A lot of people think, ‘Oh, that girl’s dieting, she’s got an eating disorder,” Collins said. ‘But there’s really so much more to it.’

While the club itself can’t provide counseling, it addresses the mental and emotional stress associated with body image issues, she said. It also provides resources for friends and families.

Not all students feel comfortable going to SU Counseling Services-some just need a support group, said Darya Rotblat, staff advisor to BRIDGES and assistant director of the Office of Off-Campus Student Services.

Others, however, may need more severe intervention, she said.

‘In our culture, let’s face it-we take people at face value,’ Collins said. ‘(There’s) the idea that success can come from that image of conventional beauty.’

Females are much more likely than males to develop an eating disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health’s Web site.

But it’s a growing issue among men, Rotblat said.

As many as 3.7 percent of females suffer from anorexia, while 4.3 percent suffer from bulimia, according to the institute’s Web site. As much as five percent of the general population suffers from binge-eating disorder, which is characterized by eating until uncomfortably full, regardless of hunger.

Those with negative body images are more likely to develop eating disorders and obsessions with weight loss, according to the National Eating Disorders Association’s Web site.

‘It starts with how you look and how you feel,’ Rotblat said.

People control their eating and exercise habits in an attempt to control their lives, Collins said. But that control can become addictive.

Collins had an eating disorder in high school that she said ‘consumed’ her.

The extent of an eating disorder depends on the amount of time a person is thinking about their body, exercising and food, Collins said.

‘People don’t necessarily need to have anorexia or bulimia to have an eating disorder or a bad body image,’ said Kalee Rinehart, a junior magazine major and a member of BRIDGES.

Rinehart, who is recovering from bulimia, said those with eating disorders often feel they don’t have an outlet other than a therapist.

‘They want to talk to other people who are experiencing it,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to know that other people feel that way.’

BRIDGES started when the owner of Ophelia’s Place, a support center in Liverpool for people suffering from eating disorders, put Collins and Rotblat in touch last October, Rotblat said. The two had both been working at the center.

They attained club status last February and meet once or twice a month, she said.

The club also aims to help the friends and families of those suffering from poor body image or eating disorders, Rotblat said.

Eating disorders are stereotyped and misunderstood, she said. One common misconception is that people don’t eat because they think they’re fat, but with almost all of the students she’s dealt with, the disorder is a coping mechanism for stress caused by another issue.

A problem is that the diseases are secretive, she said.

‘People don’t really talk about it, it’s a negative thing, it’s really personal,’ Rinehart said. ‘You feel bad about yourself and you don’t want to tell people what you do.’

The worst thing a friend can do is not say anything, Rinehart said.

But friends also shouldn’t pressure the person too much, Rotblat said. It makes the disorder much worse.

Published on October 30, 2006 at 12:00 pm