Vermont Cynic

Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Life and Style

Media Credit: Photo Illustrations by Liz Crawford/Vermont Cynic A recent study done by the Global Market Insite, Inc. on behalf of the National Eating Disorders Association that was done in the fall of 2006 on over 1,000 college students across the country, revealed that 80.9 percent of females and 74.7 percent of males have dieted and avoided or skipped meals. Also, 19.6 percent admitted to having an eating disorder at one point in their lives.

Body image takes its toll as eating disorders continue to affect college students.

"Eating disorders affect more than 10 million Americans, and they are the number one killer of young women when it comes to any mental health issue," stated Gabriela Helfgott Sullivan, MPH, who has been the peer health programs director at Health Promotion Services at the UVM Center for Health & Wellbeing for the past four years.

"The negative impact of the media on our body image affects us all," she said.

Sullivan made it clear that negative body image and eating disorders are a prevalent issue in today's society.

A study done by Global Market Insite, Inc. on behalf of the National Eating Disorders Association was done in the fall of 2006 on over 1,000 college students across the country, revealing some startling news.

The study reported that 80.9 percent of females and 74.7 percent of males have dieted and avoided or skipped meals.

Also, 19.6 percent of the participants admitted to having an eating disorder at one point in their lives. Poor body image has found it's way onto college campuses across the nation.

But where does UVM fall in this trend?

Does the atmosphere at UVM breed negative body image? Or is it a supportive environment for positive body image?

Hannah Lily Zaks, a freshman from New York City, stated, "People at UVM are far more laid back and less judgmental about body image than people in New York City."

Jesse Zastrow, a sophomore at UVM, commented on the atmosphere on campus, saying, "UVM is a very friendly and comfortable environment for good body image." He also noted that he "doesn't really feel affected by it either way."

Continued...

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