While most of us have heard about the “Freshman 15” — the stereotypical first-year weight gain among college students — a growing share of young adults are experiencing quite the opposite.
Some 10% to 20% of females and 4% to 10% of males in college suffer from an eating disorder, according to estimates from the National Eating Disorder Association.
JD Ouellette, a California-based eating disorder expert at Equip, a virtual eating disorder provider, agreed that the rates of disordered eating have been increasing for some time among this age group, a trend the pandemic accelerated.
