November 10, 2005
Queens Campus - Did you know that as many as one in three
college women—and one in 10 college men—have disordered eating
habits? These habits can cause serious damage to health; they
can even result in death!
“One-third of the cases of eating disorders are treatable,
one-third will live with the condition for the rest of their lives
and one-third will die,” says Jennifer Ann Polintan, a counselor in
St. John’s University Counseling Center, who spearheaded a panel
discussion on eating disorders co-sponsored by the Office of Health
Services, the Counseling Center and the Women in Science Society.
(An organization under the auspices of the Office of Grants and
Sponsored Research, the Women in Science Society sponsors monthly
programs on health topics relevant to the university
community.)
“An eating disorder affects your mind and your body,” Polintan
told a large audience of students as they munched on a light lunch
in Council Hall. “It eventually controls you.” Polintan knows her
subject. She worked for many years at the Eating Disorders
Treatment Clinic at Schneider Children’s Hospital in Queens. (The
hospital also treats young adults up to age 21.)
An eating disorder may present itself in people predisposed to
use it as a means of coping with stress or other circumstances over
which they feel they have little control, she explains. They may
not be able to exert control over many aspects of their life, so
they resort to controlling their eating in a harmful,
self-destructive way. Often, people with disordered eating aren’t
fully cognizant of their problem. “Perceptions become skewed when
you don’t eat enough,” she says. People who have eating disorders
may have a “drive for perfection, coping issues, family issues, a
genetic predisposition, or feel societal pressure.”
Although people are most familiar with anorexia—severely
restricting calories often to the point of self-starvation—there is
a current trend on college campuses of bulimic women
“over-exercising,” says Polintan. Bulimics tend to binge and
purge to control their weight. Up to 5 percent of college women in
the U.S. are bulimic, according to a hand-out available at St.
John’s Office of Health Services.
Mary Grace Webb, clinical nutrition manager, Nutrition Services,
New York Hospital, Queens, told the assembled group that “when we
[as a society] shifted our focus from health and feeling good to
excessive emphasis on appearance, eating became disordered.” As the
person who designed the “points” system used by Weight Watchers to
help people adhere to a weight-loss or maintenance diet, Webb is
familiar with the country’s weight problem and obsession.
“Sixty-five percent of all Americans are either overweight or
obese,” she says. “The only tried-and-true method [for staying trim
and healthy] is to eat a variety of foods, drink water and move our
bodies.”
Part of the problem many people have in maintaining a healthy
weight is that “most people don’t know the basics of preparing food
anymore,” she says. “The importance of nutrition [to health] is
paramount.” Some practices such as skipping meals or eliminating
entire food groups from the diet can be detrimental to health and
lead to disordered eating patterns, she explained before the
program.
Disordered eating and excessive dieting and self-restriction of
calories and nutrients can have dire effects on the body, warned
Pauline Tummino, director of St. John’s Queens Office of Health
Services, in a pre-event interview. [She had been on the program
but was unable to be present.] These are some of the
ramifications:
- Loss of electrolytes
- Heart damage
- Mental disorders such as the inability to
concentrate
- Dental cavities
- Hair loss
- Skin scales
- Loss of menstrual period (women)
- Personality disorders, difficulty with interpersonal
relationships
There is free psychiatric and medical help available on campus
for students with an eating disorder. Contact the Counseling
Center, Room 130, Marillac Hall, (718) 990-6383, or the Office of
Health Services, DaSilva Hall (Residence Campus), (718)
990-6106. There are also peer counselors available through
the Alcohol, Drug and Wellness Program on campus, says Deborah
Levi, assistant director, who was part of the panel. The
organization is headquartered at the University Center, (718)
990-7537.