Content warning: discussion of eating disorders.

As a first-year student, I arrived at Fordham full of worries about adjusting to life in New York City, balancing my course load and making friends. Despite my past struggles, my relationship with food wasn’t at the top of my list of stressors. However, even though I was a year and a half into my recovery from an eating disorder when I started the school year, I still felt a bit of regression in my progress. The extensive hours of orientation left me with little time to eat and a hunger in my stomach. I was hopeful that once I settled into a routine, my eating habits would return to what they were before the first few days of college — healthy, with regular snacks and meals. 

After my first trip to the Community Dining Hall, I knew this would not be the case. To my surprise, the dining hall listed calories on every item on the menu. Calories are usually listed on food items in order to fight obesity. A recent study from the National Library of Medicine found that 88% of New Yorkers who noticed the labeling were influenced to choose the option with the lower number. The adverse effects of this strategy are often overlooked.

There is a healthier way to go about losing weight (if medically necessary) than hyperfocusing on numbers and restricting your food intake. So many college students struggle with disordered eating, with some finding comfort in restricting what they eat due to an unpredictable future. With stressors all around us, why are we pressured into focusing even more on food?

According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 10-20% of female college students and 4-10% of male college students suffer from eating disorders including, but not limited to, anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia and binge eating. In addition, 4.4–5.9% of teens enter college with a preexisting, untreated eating disorder. Calorie counting, a practice encouraged by listing calories on menus, can lead to and worsen eating disorders. Whether or not you have a diagnosed eating disorder, you can find those numbers floating around in your head for days or weeks. 

While some might be able to ignore the numbers and continue with their day, others could feel obligated to choose the lower caloric option or even not eat at all. The impact of these menus is more harmful than beneficial. It should be fairly simple to value students’ physical health without disregarding their mental health. 

Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus also has very few dining options that are open late. I acknowledge that late hours are difficult for staff; however, the limited dining choices at night create a bigger predicament for those who struggle with disordered eating. A few places stay open past 8 p.m.: SVK, Argo Tea and Cronin Café are available until 10 p.m. a few days a week. But the main dining locations, Ram Café and the Community Dining Hall, are only open until 7 or 8 p.m., depending on the day. Many students have classes as late as 8:45 p.m., leaving them with few places for dinner on campus, if any. 

The short hours at the dining halls limit students with eating disorders and encourage all students to have a set of rules to follow around food. We are forced to eat depending on the time rather than how we feel.

By contrast, the Rose Hill campus is home to Queen’s Court, open until 12 a.m., and Urban Kitchen, which is open until 1 a.m. Many other universities have dining choices open late as well. New York University has on-campus food available until 11 p.m., and Columbia University has dining options for students open until 1 a.m. 

In addition, students who live in McKeon Hall, a building with only one communal kitchen, are left with no choices late at night but to eat off campus or eat whatever snacks they have in their dorm bedrooms (pizza rolls aren’t exactly the best source of nutrients). McKeon residents are required to purchase expensive meal plans, but there is an insufficient window in the day for students to take advantage of them. With the city’s costly food prices, it is unrealistic to expect students to frequently eat meals off campus. Some students may also feel unsafe going out alone in the city at night to buy food or groceries. 

The short hours at the dining halls limit students with eating disorders and encourage all students to have a set of rules to follow around food. We are forced to eat depending on the time rather than how we feel. Rules are an impactful symptom of eating disorders, as they tend to worsen the illness. 

Instead of eating based on the time of day, many people practice intuitive eating, which is an approach to food focused on making choices that feel good, allowing you to nonjudgmentally understand your body. Intuitive eating experts encourage those with unhealthy relationships with food to eat when it feels necessary and to “honor your hunger.”

Even if you can grab a bite before the dining hall closes, you have to eat quickly, and you cannot take your food elsewhere. When students cannot bring food outside the community sitting area, it creates discomfort for those who might need to eat in a safe space, like their room or with a supportive group of friends. Many people with eating disorders feel uncomfortable eating in public areas, as they are afraid they are being watched or judged. 

The options at the dining hall also fluctuate from day to day. Those who struggle with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) can run into challenges when their “safe” foods are unavailable on the menu. Although the dining hall clearly cannot accommodate everyone’s food preferences, changing the options every day makes it impossible for those with eating disorders to plan, which is regularly suggested by therapists when encountering a possibly triggering experience. 

There are no licensed counselors on the Lincoln Center campus who specialize in eating disorders or have experience with them, only interns who have an interest in these disorders.

Despite this dangerous situation, there is a lack of resources on campus for eating disorders. There are no licensed counselors on the Lincoln Center campus who specialize in eating disorders or have experience with them, only interns who have an interest in these disorders. The good news is that a registered dietitian, Susana Debbe, who specializes in eating disorders, allergies and dietary restrictions, can be seen on both campuses and on Zoom. 

Although it is a pain to have to continue to push for resources and support for those with mental illnesses, continuing to do so is the only option. Putting a Band-Aid on a broken bone is not enough to fix the national surge in eating disorders. It takes preventing and treating illnesses with intuitive strategies and education to help those who are struggling. Fordham cannot save students everywhere, but the least it can do is support the ones at this school.