Eating disorders may be more common amongst college students than we think 

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness in Canada.  

The prevalence of eating disorders amongst post-secondary students ranged between eight to 17 per cent as per studies conducted pre-pandemic, with numbers likely increased during the pandemic.  

The National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) observed the eating disorders awareness week from Feb. 1 to 7, focusing on educating people about eating disorders.  

NEDIC is registered charity that provides information and support for eating disorders to people in Canada.  

Emily Donahue, community engagement facilitator and direct client support worker at NEDIC says, “We are an organization that’s really centered around the prevention and awareness of eating disorders, disordered eating and preoccupations with food, weight and body. Our outreach and education team focuses on that prevention and awareness piece.” 

Apart from their programming during the eating disorders awareness week, the centre facilitates workshops and educational sessions for various educational institutions of all levels up to post-secondary. 

Donahue shared that parents, caregivers, and educators are also given the opportunity to attend capacity building workshops for healthcare related to eating disorders.  

“Through our education outreach team, we also get to organize large public awareness campaigns like Eating Disorder Awareness Week,” Donahue added.  

The importance of bringing campaigns like these to postsecondary institutions is mainly due to the significant prevalence rate within postsecondary students. 

Donahue shared that anywhere between one in 10, to one in five students are suffering from eating disorders.  

“Eating disorders and disordered eating is occurring in students at a lot higher rates. And we want to get that information out there because with post-secondary campuses they don’t feel like they have the resources equipped to handle these concerns,” she said. 

The centre provides two types of free education sessions for post-secondary institutions.  

The first is directed at students and campus staff and equips them to understand signs of eating disorders and to support those affected by it. 

“This session kind of emphasizes that these folks aren’t in a direct support role like a therapist or counselor. So, it gives them the tools to sort of pass the buck on to somebody who can provide that kind of support,” Donahue said.  

The second type of session is specifically for campus health or mental health professionals with a clinical background. 

Donahue emphasized on the importance of on-campus information sessions and workshops regarding eating disorders.  

“For a lot of students, this might be their first time living away from home. And so, they’re managing things like their eating and their exercise on their own. And I think that gives it a really unique opportunity for things to start to go awry for disordered eating behaviors to start to pop up,” she said. 

In the past, the centre has had several education sessions with the University of Toronto and York University in Toronto, in addition to other Ontario universities such as Trent University and the University of Guelph.  

NEDIC also offers referrals for those who need extra support. Students can also access their toll-free helpline at 1-866-NEDIC-20 or the online live chat through their website for anonymous support.  

“On our chat service, we offer in the moment support, so whether that be you’ve had a tough day, and you just want to talk it out, writing out an urge to engage in a behavior or work through some coping strategies in the moment. We also help with this system navigation, so finding care in their area and how to access it. We offer referrals, as well as self-directed resources and informational resources,” Donahue explained.  

More information on resources provided by NEDIC can be found on https://nedic.ca/spark/