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Year after year, the consummate New Year's resolution is to lose weight. At Boston's Beacon Hill Athletics Club, 75 percent of members polled rated losing weight as their number one goal for 2003. According to a survey listed on the National Eating Disorders web page, more than 90 percent of women on a college campus diet. Of these women, over 20 percent diet continuously.

Dieting has become second-nature to many college students, especially with the fear of gaining the "Freshman Fifteen." Do most students, though, even need to lose weight? The answer is no. Despite being at a normal or near-normal body weight, some women and men go to extreme, life-threatening measures in order to lose weight.

This does not mean simply skipping dessert or having "light" beer on the weekends; rather, it involves an intense fear of food and gaining weight. The National Eating Disorders Association notes that 35 percent of "normal dieters" progress to continuous dieting. Of those, 20 to 25 percent progress to partial or full-syndrome eating disorders, the most common of which are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

The onset of an eating disorder typically occurs during or around periods of great change in one's life_moving from high school to college, getting a first "C" in a class, losing a family member or friend _ and are often a means of masking or controlling feelings of pain, confusion, or anger.

Although each form of eating disorder has its own specific diagnostic criteria, both involve secrecy and a preoccupation and obsession with food and weight. For these reasons, eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses, though they are centered around food and nutrition issues.

Although many individuals struggle with body dissatisfaction and sub-clinical eating behaviors, Dr. Karen Klar Miller from Massachusetts General Hospital found that one to 4 percent of college-age women are diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, while 50 percent of cases remain unrecognized and untreated.

Disordered eating prevents its victims from living and enjoying life. It can also be deadly. Severe caloric restriction, a component of many eating disorders, forces the body into starvation mode, slowing down many bodily functions in order to conserve energy.

People with eating disorders may notice a loss of strength and endurance, heavier breathing, thinning hair, slowed heart rates, and an overall lack of energy and desire to do things. In addition, many women experience bone loss and amenorrhea, which can lead to the early onset of osteoporosis and an inability to have children.

Although often hard to recognize, each eating disorder has some specific characteristics that may help you recognize a problem in yourself or in a friend. For example, the American Psychiatric Association defines the mindset of anorexia nervosa as viewing weight loss as an extraordinary achievement and weight gain as an unacceptable loss of self-control. Those with anorexia nervosa view themselves as fat despite their emaciated body appearance. They are often obsessive-compulsive around food and often have odd food mixtures or "food rituals."

People with bulimia nervosa are often of normal body weight. They usually appear to have normal eating habits, but they secretly consume large amounts of food (binging), followed by vomiting, extreme exercise, or laxative use (purging) to prevent weight gain.

When dieting becomes an obsession, with strict control over energy intake or excessive purging of calories through exercise, laxatives, or vomiting, a physician, dietitian, or mental health professional should be consulted. Friends and family are often the first to notice a problem. Due to their secrecy and preoccupation with weight, many individuals with an eating disorder may be defensive and shameful, so be prepared and sensitive when offering or suggesting help.

The Tufts Health Services Center has an Eating Disorders Task Force that consists of physicians, psychiatrists, counselors, and registered dietitians who are available to help students with eating concerns. Health Service Director Michelle Bowdler said that the Task Force's main goal is increasing accessibility of nutrition information.

The Task Force is open to visits not only from individuals suffering from disordered eating, but also to friends and family concerned with another's habits. One can call or go to the Health Services Office and speak to anyone on the Task Force from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

The Eating Disorders Task Force is unique in that it encompasses a wide variety of contact persons. Conversations with Task Force staff members are confidential. To reach the Task Force and attain more information on eating disorders, see the University's webpage, ase.tufts.edu/healthservices/eating.asp.

The Koster Insurance plan offered to University students covers most related tests and visits. It is worth it to seek help: doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital have found that, with treatment, 75 to 80 percent of patients with an eating disorder improve and almost 1/3 recover completely.