Search is Powered by Google
Follow us on:
Follow our health news on Twitter
Follow Our News on Facebook
Personalization
login | register
Eating Disorders News

Starting University May Be Hazardous To Your Health: Study

Main Category: Eating Disorders
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Mental Health;  Public Health
Article Date: 05 Oct 2007 - 1:00 PDT

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions
Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:not yet rated

Health Professional:2 and a half stars

2.33 (3 votes)

Article Opinions: 0 posts

Moving away from home and adapting to a new social environment are just two of the many challenges that new students face as they enter university. An innovative new study conducted at the University of Alberta has found that these challenges can actually have a negative effect on a student's health.

The researchers found that female students who lived away from home were three times more likely to report symptoms of binge eating compared to those students living with parents during their first year of university studies.

Also, students who felt dissatisfied with their bodies were three times as likely to report symptoms of binge eating when entering their first year of studies.

"Few studies have explored the links between the challenges associated with the transition of entering university and eating problems," says Erin Barker, who conducted the research while completing her PhD at the University of Alberta and current professor at Wisconsin's Beloit College.

One hundred and one (101) full-time female first-year students at a large North American university completed a web-based daily checklist of health behaviors (i.e. sleeping, eating, exercise, alcohol use) for 14 consecutive days over one of four two-week periods in the first three months of fall term. Variables studied included binge eating symptoms, body dissatisfaction, living away from home and number of class hours per week.

"Moving away from home and poor social adjustment may reflect decreases in social support and increases in interpersonal stress that for some young women contribute to eating problems," says Barker. "In the future, research should study whether adjustment to the transition to university contributes to binge eating in young men as well."

This study appears in the October 2007 Journal of Youth & Adolescence.

University of Alberta
685 General Services Bldg.
Edmonton, Alberta T6E 2H1
Canada
http://www.ualberta.ca




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Hemophilia Opioid Induced Constipation Pneumococcal Disease ADHD Anxiety Asthma Atrial Fibrillation Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Haiti Appeal

Haiti Appeal Image
The severe earthquake that struck Haiti has inflicted damage and devastation on a massive scale. Please donate to the Doctors Without Borders Haiti Appeal.

PLEASE DONATE HERE


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Tips To Stop Emotional Eating (Because Food Doesn't Fix Stress)
14 Aug 2009
For emotional eaters, food is a best friend, there to boost sprits, calm stress and alleviate boredom. But according to the August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource, emotional eating often leads to eating too much...


Coping with the Holiday Blues
Coping with the Holiday Blues

For many people, the holidays are a time of stress and sadness. Psychologist Dr. Carol Goldberg explores why and offers tips on how to avoid the holiday blues.

more videos are available in our health videos section.