From childhood

Many behaviors and ideas associated with eating disorders start at early ages. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 42 percent of first to third grade girls report wanting to be thinner and 81 percent of 10 year old children are afraid of being fat.

Junior Emily Starks said that growing up, she and other kids grew to associate weight with beauty, which contributes to unhealthy body image.

“When we were little I feel like all we knew was the word ‘fat’,” Starks said. “So if you’re fat we will attach stigma to it as if being fat or being bigger is a bad thing.”

Student Assistance Counselor Hollie Wilson believes that comments teens hear can cause them to develop unhealthy ideas about their bodies.

“If you live in a home environment, or you’re surrounded by adults, or peers who the focus is on, ‘You look beautiful today’, or ‘you look so cute in that outfit today’, what you start to associate with is that your positives come from your physical appearance,” Wilson said.

Wilson also believes the same effect can happen with negative comments.

“If people are surrounded, and you’re having lunch, and somebody says ‘You shouldn’t eat that’, or ‘You shouldn’t have that much’ and ‘That’s not good for you, you’re going to gain weight,’” Wilson said.

As the Student Assistance Counselor, Wilson watches for signs that might suggest a student has an eating disorder or unhealthy eating habits.

“What I’m looking for is maybe somebody that is coming to see me personally during lunch, or avoiding the cafeteria or areas that they provide lunch, maybe being isolated during the lunchtime period,” Wilson said.