Women, College and Weight IssuesAllan N. Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D. Updated: Jul 16th 2007A caution for women returning to college: According to Jennifer Wider, MD, of the Society for Women's Health, young women either starting their first year of college or returning to college, it is important for them to be careful about their nutritional needs. Dr. Wider correctly points out that obesity is a major problem in the United States today. While she does not suggest that men do not suffer from the same problem she does state that women face many more problems than do men with the problem of obesity. Among the problems of obesity for women are the social stigma attached to women who are over weight and the impact it has on their ability to socialize. She also states that obese women are at greater risk for early menses and late menopause, both of which have been found to be risk factors for breast cancer. Obese women also have greater problems with fertility and complicated pregnancies. Dr. Wider also reminds everyone that both men and women who are obese are at increased risk for Type Two Diabetes. In addition to diabetes are the health problems of high blood pressure and high cholesterol and heart problems. It is suggested that students leaving home and going away to school make certain that they make time for meals, exercise portion control and eat healthy snacks such as low fat yogurt, graham crackers, fresh fruit and baked chips. It is also urged that everyone avoids desserts and goes to the buffet bar only once during meals.An Additional Caution: While the suggestions made by Dr. Wider are valuable there is an important issue that is overlooked. That issue is the problem of Anorexia Nervosa and the fact that these messages about avoiding obesity are weapons in the hands of those young women and some men who engage in self starvation out of the irrational fear of obesity. Why is their fear irrational as compared to people who are not anorectic? The answer is simple but sad: for those suffering with anorexia there is no limit to how thin they believe they need to be. In fact, no matter how much weight they lose, they remain convinced that they are obese. While Dr. Wider is correct to point out the dangers for people who have not learned good eating habits while they were growing up and are now returning to school in August it is equally important to warn them about the dangers of dieting. It is known that many young people develop anorexia during High School and College years and that incredibly high numbers of them experiment with Bulimia while in College. College is a time of great stress for many young people and provides fertile opportunities for engaging in heavy alcohol abuse, over eating and weight gain and anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or both. The Society for Women's Health Research can be found at: www.womenshealthresearch.org Your comments are encouraged. Women, College and Weight Issues - Lindsay Haughn - Jul 19th 2007
I've read Dr. Wider's book, "The Doctor's Complete College Girls Health Guide," and was impressed with the discussion on both obesity and eating disorders. I think both are major issues for women in college and beyond. I commend Dr. Schwartz for mentioning them and Dr. Wider for writing about them. Women and men need to pay attention to healthy eating habits throughout their lives. And we, as a society, need more discussions like these. | 
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