Contact: Mary Anne Morrow, Remuda Ranch, 602-332-9026, [email protected]

PHOENIX, Sept. 6 /Christian Newswire/ -- Remuda Ranch, the nation’s leading treatment center for women and girls with eating disorders, reports eating disorders are becoming more prevalent on college campuses across the nation. Recent studies indicate 25 percent of female undergrads felt their eating was “out of control” and six percent admitted to using laxatives or purging.

“Eating disorder symptoms can begin in early adolescence, but often reach their peak in the college years,” said Marian Eberly, vice-president of development at Remuda Ranch. “Students in college are no longer under the watchful eye of their parents and are left to their own devices to make nutritional decisions.”

Other studies indicate thirty percent of college-age women are extremely worried about body image and 25 percent are extremely worried about weight control.

“Other issues such as individuation, emancipation, intimacy, academic pressures and financial responsibility all contribute to the reason for researchers reporting higher than usual incidences of eating disorders in the college-age population,” adds Eberly.

Anorexia and bulimia are serious, potentially chronic psychiatric disorders that often result in significant medical and psychological disturbances. These multi-faceted disorders affect not only the physical health of the college student, but emotions and cognition.

At Remuda Ranch, professionals work with college students to help them deal with the issues underlying their eating disorder. The treatment center teaches skills to learn to cope more effectively with stressors that contribute to the eating disorder.

“At Remuda, we aim to help patients achieve an improved sense of personal identity,” said Eberly. “With this skill acquisition, patients learn how to cope with success and failure in their lives without resorting to eating disorder behaviors.”

About Remuda Ranch Programs for Eating Disorders

Remuda Ranch is a caring place for women and girls who are suffering from eating disorders and related issues. Remuda Treatment Programs offer Christian inpatient and residential treatment for women and girls of all faiths suffering from an eating disorder. Each patient is treated by a multi-disciplinary team including a Psychiatric and a Primary Care Provider, Registered Dietitian, Masters Level therapist, Psychologist and Registered Nurse. The professional staff equips each patient with the right tools to live a healthy, productive life. For more information, call 1-800-445-1900 or visit www.remudaranch.com.