Conclusion

Summary

The purpose of this toolkit is to help readers gain a basic understanding of eating disorders, their corresponding harms, and the diverse range of factors that impact students who may be struggling. We hope that increasing your knowledge has and will continue to grow your confidence in responding to these concerns. We also hope that taking time to reflect on how we all have a role to play in both supporting students and dismantling the societal structures that entrench harmful messages and behaviours about the food we eat and the bodies we live in, will give us all the opportunity to live in a kinder and more caring world.

Recommendations

The following items are recommendations about responding to eating disorders and disordered eating on campus based on this toolkit.

1. The following items are recommendations about responding to eating disorders and disordered eating on campus based on this toolkit.
2. Get a baseline understanding of common eating disorder diagnoses and their components.
3. Understand the seriousness and risks to one’s health and wellbeing eating disorders pose.
4. Gain clarity on the differences between eating disorders and disordered eating as well as the spectrum in which they both exist.
5. Recognize that eating disorders do not discriminate and that students have specific risk factors for developing eating disorders or disordered eating.
6. Ensure policies and practices around student athletes do not encourage, perpetuate, or entrench disordered eating behaviours.
7. Educate students in critical media literacy, the potential harms of diet/fitness culture, and how to consume social media content safely.
8. Learn about weight stigma, how it shows up in our daily lives, and how it can perpetuate risky eating behaviours in students.
9. Recognize the impact of precarious food supply and financial insecurity for students.
10. Create spaces and programs on campus that give students access to regular and nourishing meals/groceries.
11. Work to combat stigma around eating disorders and disordered eating at the individual and organizational level.
12. Include screening questions about eating disorders and disordered eating on intake forms to give students an opportunity to disclose their specific concerns. Ensure staff are trained to respond to these disclosures.
13. Offer a variety of formats/modalities for students seeking support for their eating disorder or disordered eating behaviours.
14. Engage in ongoing staff/faculty training on this topic to increase competency and confidence when confronting these challenging issues.
15. Develop robust prevention and education initiatives on eating disorders and disordered eating.
16. Partner with community mental health organizations to fill in service gaps and set students up with support after they leave the campus community. For more information on creating campus- community partnerships see our toolkit.
17. Review and familiarize yourself with the resources and programs offered on your campus, in your area, and online so you are ready to connect students in need.