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Resiliency: Eating Disorders

This guide provides materials related to eating disorders.

Navigating this LibGuide

This LibGuide features materials related to eating disorders. Please see below for instructions on how to navigate this guide:

  • To the left, you will find your main menu, which includes three sections: ProQuest Materials / NC Live Materials / Additional Resources
  • You will find many materials about each topic on their subject page. Each item will have a link that will take you to NC Live or ProQuest.
  • To access the ProQuest Materials, you can either:
    • Type in the e-ISBN in the search bar on your university library's webpage OR
    • Click the title to follow the link directly to the ProQuest Webpage for this item. Use your university single sign on credentials to access the materials.
  • To access Additional Resources:
    • Click on the title/name of the item to load it
  • To Access the NC Live Materials:
    • Go directly to the NC Live website and enter the information on the search bar OR
    • Click the title to follow the link directly to the NC Live Webpage for this item. NC Live will ask you the name of your institution through a drop-down menu. Scroll through the menu until you locate the name of your library. Select the name of your library to to log into NC Live. 

About this LibGuide

Eating disorders are biologically influenced medical illnesses that can affect a person's physical and mental health (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2024). Eating disorders can affect anyone, no matter their racial and ethnic backgrounds, ages, body weights, or genders (NIMH, 2024). Additionally, individuals with eating disorders may not look like they have one. Research suggests that the risk of developing an eating disorder increases due to a combination of genetic, biological, behavioral, psychological, and social factors (NIMH, 2024).

There are different types of eating disorders, including (NIMH, 2024):

  • Anorexia Nervosa - There are 2 subtypes:
    • Restrictive - where people avoid or severely restrict foods
    • Binge-Purge - in addition to severely restricting foods, people with this subtype may have binge-eating and purging episodes where they eat large amounts of food in a short time followed by vomiting or using laxatives to get rid of what they consumed
  • Bulimia Nervosa - a condition where people have recurrent episodes of eating unusually large amounts of foods and feeling a lack of control over their eating. This behavior is followed by behaviors that compensate for the overeating to prevent wright gain (i.e. forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, fasting, excessive exercise, or a combination of these behaviors)
  • Binge-eating disorder - a condition where people lose control of their eating and have recurring episodes of eating large amounts of food that is not followed by compensatory behaviors
  • Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder - a condition where people limit the amount or type of food eaten but do not have a distorted body image or extreme fear of gaining weight

National Institute of Mental Health (2024). Eating disorders: About more than food. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders

Looking for more information on your campus?

Use the following search terms when using your library's database search:

  • eating disorders AND college students
  • defining eating disorders
  • eating disorders AND higher education
  • eating disorders AND resiliency