Anorexia nervosa and the "female- athlete triad" run rampant in college-age women, with possible life-long effects even for those who recover, said Harvard Medical School eating-disorder expert Dr. Ann Klibanski at a presentation in Filene Auditorium Thursday night.
Klibanski spoke to about 60 students and professors about these disorders, which she has researched for many years. The female-athlete triad is a combination of amenorrhea -- cessation of menstruation -- disordered eating and osteoporosis, which refers to bone loss at a rate above normal.
According to Klibanski, anywhere from three to 66 percent of female athletes suffer from the three afflictions.
"It depends on how narrowly or broadly you want to define it," she said. "Prevalence varies with the sport, and this is no surprise -- the more rigorous the coach, the higher the likelihood" that an athlete will develop female-athlete triad.
Giving examples, Klibanski said that the triad affects 74 percent of female gymnasts and 50 percent of runners and field-hockey players.
Anorexia nervosa, defined as refusal to maintain body weight, an intense fear of fat and amenorrhea, afflicts one to four percent of female college students and has a mortality rate of 5.6 percent.
These high statistics reflect the fact that many anorexics are ashamed to seek treatment. Also, friends and family may not know how to approach the situation, Klibanski said.
Along with clinical symptoms, Klibanski described other behavioral indications of the disease.
"Many of these women and men eat in private. They are very reluctant to be weighed, or they will weigh themselves down with change in their pockets or heavy clothes ... they may drink gallons and gallons of water in an effort not to eat."
Osteoporosis is the most serious and long-lasting effect of both these diseases. The majority of bone mass is formed during the adolescent years, and without proper nutrition and menstruation, this critical formation is jeopardized, she explained.
"The bone density of many of these 20-year-old women is equivalent to that of a 60- or 70-year-old," Klibanski said, noting that anorexics are often aware of the possibility of osteoporosis but nevertheless cannot control their disease.
"Women with anorexia nervosa take a lot of calcium and Vitamin D, but only because these supplements don't have calories," she said.
She also said the endocrine system, which regulates the body's hormones, is devastated by anorexia due to the electrolyte imbalance that results from poor nutrition.
