Transitioning to college can be an incredibly overwhelming experience for many teens, most of whom will be living away from home for the first time. As well as leaving their families behind, students will have a whole host of new academic and social pressures to deal with, and that can certainly takes its toll. From binge drinking to prescription pill abuse, there are plenty of troubling behaviors that are rampant on college campuses that can have detrimental effects. We'll touch on the issue of college substance abuse in future posts, but today we'd like to focus on an underrepresented issue among co-eds: Eating disorders.

Just as we have been featuring eating disorder information on this blog, multiple college publications are addressing these potentially fatal conditions as a part of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. The University of Connecticut recently shared an insightful Q&A session with campus psychologist Elizabeth Cracco to coincide with this event.

Cracco noted that some eating disorders may surface during college, but warning signs such as body image issues may have been present already. In fact, the move to college could exacerbate underlying concerns and pave the way for more self-destructive behavior.

"At college, someone may be introduced to a whole new level of stressors and not have the comfort and containment their family provided, and they turn to particular coping mechanisms such as disordered eating.They come into an environment filled with same-age peers, where there's a lot of comparison,"  she told UConn today.

Though eating disorders may be more prevalent in certain age groups, anyone can be affected by these conditions. If you suspect that you or someone you love is struggling with this issue, contact an eating disorder treatment center in Florida today. The eating disorder treatment program at Fairwinds Treatment Center is directed by Dr. Pauline Powers, an internationally recognized expert in the field of eating disorder research and treatment. Dr. Powers has served as the president of the National Association of Eating Disorders, and received a lifetime achievement award from that organization in 2005 for her decades of dedication.