The Health Center helps up to 20 students per semester who suffer from an eating disorder.

There is an even larger number of students who come in with concerns over a weight or body image concern, said Sandra Nevis, interim director of psychological services.

Nevis said that at Sacramento State there has been a connection between eating disorders and sports teams or activities where weight is an important factor. But not everyone agrees, including coaches.

The Sac State women’s soccer and cheer coaches said their sports teams have not had to directly deal with treatment for eating disorders.

“This isn’t a problem we have encountered on the soccer team while I have been here,” said women’s soccer coach Katie Poynter.

Eileen Vargas, Sac State cheer director, said that although she has never encountered the situation since taking the direction of the cheer program it is a huge problem in the sport of cheerleading and has seen someone suffer from an eating disorder.

“It was very scary. She was withering away to nothing,” said Vargas about a girl she had cheered with in the past that was starving herself.

Vargas explained that although smaller cheerleaders are easier to be lifted, they must maintain their strength and skill and eating disorders will affect their skill.

“It’s not about size, but skill. It is very scary to think that a woman would put herself through an eating disorder just to be a cheerleader,” Vargas said.

The Health Center provides assistance with eating disorders and has dietitians, physicians and health education for recovery. Medically and psychologically the staff can monitor eating disorders unless the problem is too extreme.

“If the severity is too great, we refer them to an off-campus source,” Nevis said. Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program, located at University Avenue, is where students may be referred.

Jennifer Lombardi, the program’s executive director, said the program has students from Sac State, UC Davis and University of the Pacific coming in for treatment. Lombardi said that within a year period, 10 to 15 percent of patients are students from Sac State.

Lombardi said that the stress of moving out and making new friends and the pressure of meeting expectations when moving away to college may be a factor in the existence of eating disorders in college students.

“It’s one of the biggest changes in your life,” Lombardi said.

Statistics for eating disorders in college students show that as many as 10 percent of college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating disorder. By the first year of college, up to 18 percent of women and 0.4 percent of men have a history of bulimia according to The National Center for Health Statistics.

At Sac State’s Health Center, a student can receive counseling for any eating disorder including binge eating, bulimia and anorexia.

Nevis said the more common disorder in college students is bulimia but also prevalent are hybrids, who suffer from more than disorder.

Genetics is seen as a factor in eating disorders, according to a more recent study. It is argued that people who have a family history of depression or anxiety may suffer from an eating disorder.

Culture is also a factor. A study from Harvard University showed that prior to the introduction of Western television in 1995 on the island of Fiji there were typically no eating disorders.

However, in 1998 more women were suffering from an eating disorder or showing signs of body dissatisfaction.

Lombardi says that the United States has become a diet-obsessed nation and a nation that manipulates media images.

Lombardi said people have unrealistic images of men and women.

Kristina Oates, a junior majoring in kinesiology, said she understood how a person’s ideal body image could result in an eating disorder.

“I think people are striving for perfection, which is realistically unattainable because even people in magazines and on TV aren’t perfect,” Oates said.

Joel Baptista, a senior majoring in kinesiology, said that there are other factors that influence people and that people should be concerned with health instead of body image.

“I think that people are influenced by the media, personal feelings, opposite sex and peers,” Baptista said. “People shouldn’t be concerned with body image but more on health.”Lombardi said that people with eating disorders either eat excessively or limit what they eat in order to cope with stress and emotions.

“It’s definitely a coping mechanism,” Lombardi said.

But it is dangerous. “Eating disorders has the highest death rate of any mental disorder,” Lombardi said.

Nationwide, approximately seven million girls and women and one million boys and men suffer from an eating disorder in the United States. Of that population, 20 percent who do not seek treatment will die according to Anadigics, Inc. statistics.

The reason for death caused by eating disorders is due to the risk of heart failure. Anorexia can cause an abnormal slow heart rate and low blood pressure.

Bulimia can result in electrolyte and chemical imbalances, because recurrent binge-and-purge cycles. The imbalances create irregular heartbeats.

“Bulimics scare me,” said Lombardi about the electrolyte imbalances found in bulimics. “They can just make their heart stop.”

Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program provides a variety of services to help a person suffering from an eating disorder. Services include individual psychotherapy, couple and family psychotherapy, process groups, nutritional counseling and family support groups. For more information call (916) 920-5276.

Nika Megino can be reached at [email protected]