The Disordered Eating Culture at College
By Olivia Pfeiffer
TW: **This article deals with topics related to eating disorders and unhealthy relationships with food**
“So we’re both not going to eat dinner so we can get super drunk tonight, right?” my friend casually asked me, to which I wholeheartedly agreed. I’m sure many of you can relate to having similar conversations with people throughout your college experience, and, like me, have actively chosen to forgo a meal for some reason or another, drinking or otherwise. It can sound like the question my friend just asked me, but it can also sound like:
“I’ve only had 3 iced coffees and gum today, lol.”
“I was so stressed about this exam I spent the whole morning studying and didn’t have time to get food.”
“ I ran out of meals this week so I guess I’m just gonna eat snacks.”
“We’re taking pics before formal so I can’t eat anything.”
“I ate my first meal at 10 p.m. tonight.”
“I don’t like what they’re serving at the dining halls so I’m just not gonna eat.”
“Omg she’s so skinny; I wished I looked like that in frat clothes.”
“Omg I’ve gained so much weight; the freshman 15 is so real”
And so on and so on.
It is well known that college students are seen as broke and starving, and I’m not writing this article to criticize people for not having the financial means to feed themselves. Yet in a society that glorifies the young, hot, thin 20-something and encourages restricted eating, the college environment is no exception, and we place pressure on ourselves to look the best that we can—after all, these are the photos we want to look back at in 20 years, right? And I’m not trying to say that all college students have eating disorders, but there is a widespread culture that actively encourages disordered relationships with food. Food and eating habits can be a source of control, and when so much feels out of control—social standing, coronavirus, election stress—it is no surprise that college students turn towards food and food restriction as a way to feel a sense of control when everything else is out of balance. While one in five women and one in ten men in college have diagnosed eating disorders, the reality is that even if people are not formally diagnosed, it does not mean they are not impacted in some way or another by this problem. Even if it is just offhand comments about weight or physical appearance while getting ready on a Friday night, an unhealthy relationship with food only exacerbates other mental health issues such as anxiety or depression.
I don’t know if I have any solutions to counter this culture, and I wish I could write an article that provided a clear step-by-step way to break down this toxic environment. I understand the struggles of not eating because you’re studying, and I know the feeling when you are struggling to stomach any more dining hall food (all of the examples I gave earlier are from conversations I’ve had with other people). Yet this disordered relationship that we have with food and the way that we perpetuate the cycle with other people in our lives by actively participating in conversation and habits needs to be called out. Even just recognizing that the way in which Villanovans are active and passive participants in this culture can be a step towards changing the relationship we have with food, and hopefully with each other.
