Calories Count, But What's the Cost?

By Olivia Cannon

Around Jenks High School, there are vending machines with snacks and drinks, but on some of the vending machines, there are signs stuck above where the price is shown. These signs say “Calories Count, Check Then Choose.” These small, inconspicuous signs are commonly overlooked but take on a bigger significance when you’re considering their effect on students struggling with eating disorders.

Immediately after reading one of these signs, I thought of one of my friends who struggles with eating and how it could affect her and other people like her. This sign's impact on people could end up being huge. These signs create a less positive school environment and cast food in a negative light, causing harm to students struggling with eating disorders.

The Childhood Adolescent Eating Disorder Program explains eating disorders by saying “Eating disorders are illnesses that have biological and psychological components. The symptoms can be life-threatening. Every organ system of the body can be damaged, including the brain, heart, kidney, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, skin, and bones.”

Eating disorders are more common than some may think. In an article “Eating Disorder Statistics” from the ANAD says that 28.8 million Americans will deal with an eating disorder in their lifetime, and only 27% of them will receive treatment. Eating disorders are extremely common in student-athletes, with 77% of male athletes and 80% of female athletes having eating disorders, and as a student-athlete, these statistics do not surprise me. Eating disorders affect people's mental health, with over 70% of people with eating disorders also having other conditions, most commonly anxiety. Because of this, they are 11 times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers without eating disorder symptoms.

Addressing this issue is important but we also need a solution to not only replace the sign with something more positive but also to help students with eating disorders. The Childhood Adolescent Eating Disorder Program says that Creating an environment where students feel safe to discuss matters privately and confidentially will help students reach out for help. Still, we also want to prevent eating disorders from forming in the first place.

The National Eating Disorder Association says that the key to helping students struggling is to provide support and education resources to not only parents and caregivers but also to teachers and coaches, educating the staff and the guardians about how to spot an eating disorder and how to prevent them could get students help and prevent them before they start. I think this could really help at Jenks so we could catch and help them before they get worse.

The Center for Discovering Eating Disorder Treatment did research at middle and high schools that showed that engaging in programs like mindful eating can help prevent eating disorders. This could be implied at Jenks through nutrition classes. This month, the Trojan Torch will be releasing an article about how nutrition classes would help at Jenks.

I think that Jenks needs to replace the signs with something positive or get rid of the signs entirely, but also, educate students, teachers, coaches, and parents on how to identify an eating disorder and how to get the student's help. Counselors should be sure to have a welcoming environment that students can trust to be confidential and a safe space to share. I also think it would be beneficial for students to hear from someone who struggled with mental health in the past and worked through it so that they can see that they can make it through their struggles and have a good future.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, reach out for help and call National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1 (866) 662-1235