{"id":26739,"date":"2025-06-25T18:04:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=26739"},"modified":"2025-06-25T18:04:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:19:28","slug":"uc-research-reveals-complex-roots-of-disordered-eating-in-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/uc-research-reveals-complex-roots-of-disordered-eating-in-college-students\/","title":{"rendered":"UC research reveals complex roots of disordered eating in college students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New research with University of Cincinnati connections debunks the standard assumption of disordered eating and proposes more personalized attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe study highlights how complex disordered eating can be and emphasizes the need for personalized mental health care,\u201d says study co-author Rose Marie Ward, PhD, a UC psychology researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a common misconception that eating disorders predominantly affect white, affluent, teenage girls. Disordered eating, however, is far more demographically widespread with multiple causes, Ward explains.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, according to the National Eating Disorders Association, young adults have the highest prevalence of eating disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand and treat disordered eating among young adults, a multi-institutional research team conducted a study among college students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, which appears in the\u00a0Journal of Eating Disorders<\/a>, identified five distinct patterns of disordered eating behaviors among college students ages 18-24\u2014ranging from mild to severe\u2014each tied to different levels of anxiety, distress tolerance, and alcohol use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research team looked at the health survey data of 1,362 college students and discovered that not all students who struggle with eating do so in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the study, one group, which made up nearly 8% of the students, stood out for having both high levels of anxiety and severe disordered eating. This group, of which approximately 70% identified as women, also showed high scores across all other psychological risk factors, suggesting they face multiple, compounding mental health challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis finding is important because it shows that anxiety plays a major role in the most severe cases of disordered eating,\u201d says Ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another surprising discovery, she says, was a group representing nearly 10% of the sample \u2014 mostly male students \u2014 who engaged in excessive exercise and \u201cmuscle-building behaviors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This group reported some of the lowest levels of anxiety and emotional distress. The study found that this profile resembles what some have labeled \u201cdrunkorexia\u201d or \u201cfood alcohol disruption,\u201d where individuals use food and fitness behaviors to compensate for or balance out heavy drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese results show that disordered eating isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all,\u201d Ward explained, as some students are using food, exercise or alcohol in ways that may seem healthy on the surface but reflect deeper issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study also shows that some harmful behaviors \u2014 like excessive exercising \u2014 can be overlooked, especially in populations that may not show signs of typical emotional distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur findings challenge the idea that disordered eating only exists in extreme or obvious forms,\u201d says lead author Elizabeth Clayton, an assistant professor in the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences at the West Virginia University School of Public Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy recognizing the full range of behaviors and their psychological roots, we can create more effective, customized support systems for students,\u201d says Clayton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Ward, co-authors are Rachel Geyer, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), and Donovan Weekley, West Virginia University (Morgantown, West Virginia).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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