General Information: Who Doesn't Worry About Weight?

Social pressures
In this time of heightened awareness of health, fitness, and body image, it would only stand to reason that more and more people are attempting to find ways to manage their weight and influence their appearance. In many sectors of our society, body image has found an idealized status that is shaped by particular views of what will reward us with health, happiness and success. Standards of weight and appearance of course, vary across cultures in the US and other countries. However, it is probably generally true that the world in which students live while at Brown, and the worlds from which most of them come before entering college, are dominated by messages signaling distinct standards for physical appearance. The social pressures for ideal body weight and image have propelled many students, both females and males, to engage in unhealthy ways of managing weight. Eating issues affect an estimated 5 million people every year.

Eating concerns or eating disorder?
Because everyone takes in those messages from the media and surrounding culture, many people are uneasy with their eating habits and physical appearance. The range of normal body types and we are born with is hugely varied. The discrepancies between how you are physically, and how you think you should be, can be very large and very painful unless you have a healthy amount of perspective and self-acceptance to counteract society's pressures. What this means is that you can fall anywhere along the continuum from having eating concerns all the way to having eating disorders.

Who defines an eating disorder?
There are formal and official criteria the medical and psychiatric professions use to diagnose eating disorders. If you are wondering about this for yourself or someone you know, then you probably have reason to be concerned. While we can offer you some guidelines here in making your own judgments, we strongly recommend that you get help from the resources at Brown. Ask your questions, share your concerns: in the end, a professional is the only one who really can give you an objective, informed opinion.

Both medical providers (e.g., doctors, nurses, nutritionists) and mental health professionals (e.g., psychologists, psychiatrists) are bound by confidentiality laws that require them to keep private what you reveal (excepting in certain rare circumstances, such as when a person's life may be in danger.) This means that Health Services and Psychological Services cannot and will not share or release information to anyone, unless you have given your explicit permission for it -- not your parents, not your friends, not your professors or coaches. You are lucky that Brown has a collection of medical providers and mental health professionals on campus who are available to you and who are expert in recognizing, understanding and knowing what kind of help is needed for the problems with eating and weight that college students encounter.

Recognizing when there's a problem
When has a diet gone too far? When is a method of keeping weight down too much? When has body image become too important? Think about just how much of your waking hours are caught up in thinking about or doing things related to eating or your weight. Has it increased? Have you become driven by it? Has it become more important than doing other things you used to enjoy? Does it distract your attention from schoolwork, relationships? Think honestly about the consequences of your eating and weight issues.

On a physical level:

• Are you feeling weaker, getting sick more often?
• Do you have headaches, a sore throat or gastrointestinal problems?

On a mental level:

• Are you having trouble concentrating?
• Do you have less mental stamina?
• Does your thinking seem dulled?

On an emotional level:

• Do you find your emotions change according to what you have eaten or how much, or what you have done to try to get rid of the calories you've ingested?
• Do you often feel ashamed, guilty, disgusted? Do you hate yourself sometimes?

On a behavioral level:

• Are you more withdrawn, avoiding people, more secretive, depressed?
• Are you more obsessive, more compulsive and rigid about your eating and weight behaviors?

Numbers you can call

Any of the above is a problem. Don't let it get worse because it easily can. Don't let it persist, because it will distort your future health and worse, impair your capacity to develop in all the ways you can and should at this time in your life. Don't let your life become stunted. You can get help right away by calling any of these 3 numbers:

Health Services
401.863-3953

Health Services Nutritionist
863-2794

Psychological Services
863-3476

All of these services are free and confidential.

The Boston College Eating Awareness Team has generously allowed us to adapt their information on eating concerns. We gratefully acknowledge their help.

Disclaimer: Health Education is part of Health Services at Brown University. Health Education maintains this site as a resource for Brown students. This site is not intended to replace consultation with your medical providers. No site can replace real conversation. Health Education offers no endorsement of and assumes no liability for the currency, accuracy, or availability of the information on the sites we link to or the care provided by the resources listed.  Health Services staff are available to treat and give medical advice to Brown University students only. If you are not a Brown student, but are in need of medical assistance please call your own health care provider or in case of an emergency, dial 911.  Please contact us if you have comments, questions or suggestions.

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last modified: March 6, 2008