Introduction to Eating Disorders
Purpose Statement
Staff, administration and faculty on post-secondary campuses across Ontario are seeing an increase in eating disorders on campus and don’t feel like they have sufficient tools or knowledge to support students. The purpose of this toolkit is to increase staff and faculty’s awareness, knowledge, and confidence in supporting students with concerns around eating disorders. This toolkit does not hope to create experts in this complex set of disorders and challenges but instead offers a starting point for readers to begin familiarizing themselves with and reflecting upon eating disorders, disordered eating, and the unique risk factors students face in post-secondary environments.
Please note, as with all of our toolkits, this is a living document. As we continue to learn about this subject, more will be added to reflect emerging and promising practices as they relate to eating disorders.
How Should I Use This Toolkit?
This toolkit is intended for campus staff, faculty, and administrators who would like to know more about eating disorders in a post-secondary environment. We recommend using this toolkit in a way that makes sense for the reader’s needs. We have designed this document in such a way that you can jump between sections, skip sections, or read the entire document from start to finish. Each section will include recommendations on actions to take related to supporting students. There is a complete list of all the recommendations at the end of this toolkit as well. You’re welcome to print and/or download the full toolkit or any section you need.
If you are interested in campus spotlights, you will find them at the end of the toolkit. If you have any questions or notice that we are missing a program from your post-secondary institution that could be featured in one of the spotlights, you can email the project lead Ella Wiseman at ewiseman@campusmenathealth.ca or info@campusmentalhealth.ca.
Positionality Statement
This toolkit was created in collaboration with individuals from community organizations, post- secondary institutions, subject matter experts, and those with lived experience. The lead on this project, Ella Wiseman, is a trained social worker who works in a critical anti-oppressive framework and brings those perspectives to this toolkit. Every available effort was made to include information that speaks to the diverse range of eating disorders and disordered eating.
Eating Disorders and Mental Health
Eating disorders are a range of mental health conditions that affect diverse populations. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2024), individuals struggling with eating disorders (ED’s) are “at risk for co-occurring mental illnesses, which most often include depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders” (p. 6). Further, NIMH highlights the importance of recognizing and treating co-occurring conditions in any eating disorder treatment plan (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024).
Moreover, studies show that eating disorders typically emerge during adolescence, which is similar to when other mental health conditions typically arise (Centre for Addictions and Mental Health [CAMH], n.d.). We will discuss age and stage of life as risk factors for eating disorders and disordered eating later in the toolkit.
As mental illnesses with physical manifestations, eating disorders need to be treated with consideration of both the mental and physical health impacts. Best practices include conducting a holistic assessment of the mental and physical health concerns that an affected individual is experiencing. Treatment of the mental health aspects may include psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy, and pharmacotherapy (CAMH, n.d.). Treating one side without the other will yield less successful results (NIMH, 2024).
Recommendation
 | Understand the connection eating disorders and disordered eating have to a variety of mental and physical health concerns. |
Acknowledgements
This toolkit would not have been possible without the knowledge and contributions from our collaborators.
Authors and Contributors:
- Joshua Bell
- Charlotte Booth
- Steven Bowa
- Emily Donahue
- Lucy Irvine
- Shaleen Jones
- Crystal Morris
- Holly Stacey
- Emily Tam
We are also grateful to the many campus and community members that informed this toolkit via the toolkit needs survey and interviews.
