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Screening for Eating Disorders on College Campuses: a Review of the Recent Literature

  • Eating Disorders (S Wonderlich and S Engel, Section Editors)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper provides a review of the recent literature on screening for eating disorders (EDs) on college campuses, and reports on methodology, prevalence rates, treatment receipt, and ED screening tools.

Recent Findings

Recent research highlights relatively high prevalence rates of EDs among students on college campuses, with the majority of studies demonstrating elevated prevalence compared to the general population. Among students who screened positive for an ED, approximately 20% or less reported having received treatment for their ED. Findings also revealed various recruitment strategies, methods, ED screening tools, and clinical cutoffs used to study this topic, making it challenging to draw firm conclusions about prevalence of EDs on college campuses.

Summary

Recent research on ED screening on college campuses reveals that EDs are a significant problem among college students, and there is a marked treatment gap between those who need care and those who receive it. Implications and future research are discussed.

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Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Funding

This work was supported by R01 MH100455 and R01 MH115128 from the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as T32 HL130357 and T32 HL007456 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and TL1TR002344 from the National Institute of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Mailstop 8134-29-2100, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft, Anna M. Karam, Grace E. Monterubio & Denise E. Wilfley

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    C. Barr Taylor

  3. Center for m2Health, Palo Alto University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    C. Barr Taylor

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  1. Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft
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Correspondence to Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft.

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Ellen E. Fitzsimmons-Craft, Anna M. Karam, Grace E. Monterubio, C. Barr Taylor, and Denise E. Wilfley each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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Fitzsimmons-Craft, E.E., Karam, A.M., Monterubio, G.E. et al. Screening for Eating Disorders on College Campuses: a Review of the Recent Literature. Curr Psychiatry Rep 21, 101 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-019-1093-1

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