While eating disorders are alien to many Dartmouth students, for some women on campus it is a very real part of everyday life.
A college survey conducted by the Nutrition Education Program found that one in four women reported symptoms of eating disorders, and one of 20 appeared to have a full fledged clinical problem.
Although this statistic indicates that at least five percent of women at Dartmouth should be seeking help, only about 50 women per term, or 2.5 percent actually consult Health Services.
"Body image is awful at Dartmouth," Marcia Herrin, the co-chair of the College's eating disorder treatment and prevention program said.
"The perception students have is that everyone is skinny," Herrin said. "Anyone who's not skinny feels out of place. We have thin and normal weight people thinking they're too fat."
The disordered symptoms that Herrin treats most commonly are extreme dieting, binge eating and purging.
While to some students these terms seem remote, to others, like one senior who spoke to The Dartmouth but wished to remain anonymous, eating disorders are a part of daily life.
"A lot of women on campus have eating issues," said the senior, who thinks her close friend suffers from an eating disorder.
"[My friend] eats secretly, she binges a lot and if she hears someone coming, she'll put her food away," she said. "She'll eat a pint of ice cream at one sitting, and make herself sick, but she'll do it repeatedly, at least once or twice a week."
Many other women also said they have first-hand experience with eating disorders.
"I was approached by a friend who had realized that she had a problem," Hannah Alldredge '99 said. "There's disordered eating all over campus."
The cause of these eating disorders vary from student to student, Herrin said.
"A student who is feeling insecure about relationships or academics or family could turn to an eating disorder for control," she said. "Or, an eating disorder could be the only kink in the armor of an otherwise perfect life."
Lauren Allan-Vail '99 and Jeffrey Fine '99, both Eating Disorder Peer Advisers (EDPAs), attribute many of the eating disorders at Dartmouth to societal pressures and an attempt to gain control.
A problem for many students is how to help their friends cope with their eating problems in the most beneficial way.
"It's so hard to decide at which point you're going to seek help for a person," Alldredge said. "You don't want to step on any toes. It's so touchy."
Even when a friend displays behavior that obviously demonstrates a warped body image or unhealthy eating habits, it is often difficult for students to step in and help.
The EDPA program was founded in the summer of 1997 in order to combat the problem of disordered eating at Dartmouth and make it easier for students to help their peers or seek help for themselves.
EDPA is an important step in fighting the battle against eating disorders, Herrin said.
Since EDPA was created, it seems that awareness of eating disorders on campus has increased because it provides support and advice to students, Allan-Vail said.
"I think the fact that twice the number of students came in is due to EDPA," Herrin said.
Herrin said male eating disorders are rare at Dartmouth but do exist in a very small number of cases, however Fine said all cases indirectly affect men through their friends and loved ones.
Despite the efforts of EDPA, many students are still uninformed about the predominance of eating disorders at Dartmouth, Herrin said.
When told that so many of the College's students were affected by eating disorders many people who The Dartmouth spoke to expressed surprise.
"I don't hear a whole lot of people complaining about their bodies," Greg Dietrick '99 said.
Herrin urges students to be aware of their friends' eating habits. "Express what you're seeing," she said. "If you're concerned, there is probably a problem, and addressing it is the most honest thing to do."
