Disordered Eating and the Use of Unhealthy Weight Control Methods in College Students: 1995, 2002, and 2008

Abstract

This study investigated whether eating disorders and the use of unhealthy weight control methods increased over time in male and female university undergraduate students. Data from three random sample surveys of college students were collected over a 13-year period to investigate trends in disordered eating and unhealthy weight control behaviors. Data were collected in 2008 from 641 male and female randomly sampled undergraduate students were compared to 274 randomly sampled undergraduates surveyed in 2002 and 493 surveyed in 1995. Behaviors falling within the diagnostic category of eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) in both males and females significantly increased over time in accordance with the use of unhealthy weight control methods. Eating disorders should be routinely addressed by college health professionals through both treatment and prevention efforts, especially considering the frequent concurrent psychiatric and physiological comorbidities.

Notes

The authors thank Laurel White for her invaluable statistical analyses, Daniel Malear and Jamie Truscott for their editing skills, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, Student Affairs Division, for funding our research.