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Binge Eating Disorder is characterized by individuals who engage in compulsive or uncontrollable food binges without compensatory behaviors (such as self-induced vomiting or laxative abuse). Almost anyone can become a binge eater in a particular or isolated moment.

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by a preoccupation with weight and avoidance of food.

Bulimia Nervosa involves binge eating with compensatory behaviors to avoid caloric gain. All of the above disorders reflect concerns about body image. They are primarily seen in young women, and they are serious enough to result in death.

You do not need to have all of these symptoms to have a problem with food/

Symptoms of Binge Eating Disorder
• Eat a large amount of food in a short period of time.
• Eat sensibly with others and out of control when alone.
• Feel unable to stop eating during binges.
• Eat until uncomfortably full.
• Feel self-disgust, guilt and shame after over-eating
• Eat in secret or alone.
• Plan secret binges in advance.
• Have a history of diet failure.
• Obsess about food throughout the day and night.
• Eat to escape from worries or problems.

Symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa
Eating Binges. During an eating binge, the individual consumes very large amounts of food in a short period of time. Binges are usually done in secret and carefully planned so as to avoid detection because the individual knows they are inappropriate. The eating binge is often accompanied by a feeling of lack of control over the eating behavior. The binge ends when the individual can eat no more. Immediately following the binge, the individual usually purges (voluntarily induces vomiting).

Secondary symptoms associated with bulimia include:
• Sore throats.
• Swollen salivary glands
• Destruction of tooth enamel
• Dehydration
• Intestinal damage

Symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa
• Refusal to maintain body weight over a minimal normal weight for age and height. The maintenance of a weight that is 15% below expected is
suggested to be a diagnostic of anorexia nervosa.

• Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat and distortion of body
image.
• Absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. This is referred to as amenorrhea.

Individuals with anorexia have a number of secondary symptoms that stem from their inappropriate diets and weight loss. These include:
• Slow heart rate (bradycardia)
• Low blood pressure (hypotension)
• Low body temperature (hypothermia)
• Eat to escape from worries/problems

WHAT COLLEGE WOMEN NEED TO KNOW: FACTS AND MYTHS

MYTH: Only white, middle class women develop eating problems.
FACT: College women from all different racial and ethnic origins are prone to developing body image a nd e ating p roblems. Due to the stereotype that eating disorder sufferers are white women, many woman of color have suffered from their eating problems in silence.

MYTH: Women who keep themselves busy by juggling work, school, and family responsibilities don't have time to care about their looks, let alone develop eating problems.
FACT: Women who engage in "superwoman" attitudes may be particularly vulnerable to succumbing to pressures to "do it all" and look good while doing it. Pressures to be everything to everybody can be stressful and overwhelming, leading many women to turn to food for comfort.

MYTH: Women seen around school who are of normal weight or overweight cannot have an eating problem. They have to be extremely thin to have a serious problem.
FACT: One in four college women who are of normal weight, overweight, and underweight develop symptoms of eating disorders, which have serious mental and physical health risks.

MYTH: The standard of attractiveness portrayed in fashion magazines, television, and films feature positive role models for every woman in America to admire and strive to emulate.
FACT: Studies show that after only seconds of being exposed to women in fashion magazines, female readers have lower body satisfaction and overall self-esteem. In addition, the average model featured in magazines is 26% below the weight of the average normal woman! As a result, women engage in unhealthy practices in order to conform to these unrealistic and impossible beauty standards. Even women (and men) who are not struggling to achieve a "perfect body' are at risk for developing an eating disorder. Binge eating can develop as a way of coping with stress and trauma.

MYTH: With all the problems women face in the world, abusing food really is not that big of a problem.
FACT: Eating problems are a significant health problem. There are dangerous side effects to any eating disorder, including heart problems, risk for stroke, diabetes, ulcers, throat damage (due to purging), and many others. Eating disorders are a real problem and they often cause serious medical complications.

HOW DO I GET HELP FOR EATING DISORDERS?
To explore issues concerning food, body image, nutrition, and healthy eating habits, the John Jay Counseling Department, the Women's Center, and the Health Office are good places to seek help. Consulting with a professional either at the Counseling Department or at the Women's Center will give you a chance to explore how you've been thinking and feeling about your body and how your belief and behavior around food is affecting your life. A health care practitioner at the Health Office can help you assess your physical and nutritional well-being and help you to explore healthy eating habits.

ARE THERE OTHER RESOURCES?
Internet sites have become a popular way for people who are seeking knowledge about eating concerns and body image perceptions, or who are simply curious about how these problems are manifested. One good site to explore is http://www.somethingfishy.org

Other resources to call or write are:

The Center for the Study of Anorexia and Bulimia
1841 Broadway, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10023
(212) 333-3444

American Anorexia Bulimia Association
(AABA)
165W.46 th Street Suite 1108
New York, NY 10036
(212) 575-6200

The New York Center for Eating Disorders
490 Third Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 788-6986