As eating disorders become common amongst young women, Sunday mid-day does a deep dive into what’s causing them and why are they going undetected
Kahkashan Sehgal enjoys a meal at Blue Tokai, her favourite cafe. Pic/Kirti Surve Parade
The year was 2014. A new social media site had taken the internet by storm—Tumblr. It was different from any other social media sites because of how community-oriented it was. You could meet new people, make many friends, and find communities of people who shared similar interests as you. Not all were positive, though. Anorexia was one of the most popular topics on the site, where users would often describe the disorder as an “aesthetic”, sharing constant updates on their weight and body goals, and even going as far as providing tips to keep up the eating disorder.
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But 2014 is long gone, and the kids who grew up on the internet have entered the real world. One of them is Lakshita Shivhare, a 20-year-old currently in her third year at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Hailing from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, Shivhare lives under no parental supervision here in Mumbai, with no one to check on when and how she has her meals. “In my first year of college, I gained around 10 kg. It was all healthy because I was exercising, having three meals a day. But suddenly, jeans that I’d had from the seventh grade wouldn’t fit me anymore,” she says. “I was used to getting a lot of attention in school, and that changed in college. I think subconsciously, I started correlating my physical appearance to my social status.”
Eating disorders are a rampant problem on campus, says Shivhare. “Ever since my first year, I’ve been hearing about girls in my class who just don’t eat. And these are objectively good-looking girls, who you could never imagine having these issues.”
Kripa Jalan, nutritionist
Psychiatrist at Fortis Hospital Dr Fabian Almeida explains, “Eating disorders are more prominent in individuals who are highly concerned about their weight, body image, or majorly influenced by societal trends regarding appearance. The focus is often on looking good, not necessarily feeling good. Common disorders include anorexia nervosa, where individuals restrict food intake to lose weight, and bulimia, where binge eating is followed by guilt and compensatory behaviours like purging or excessive exercise.”
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, in a 2018 study, found that eating disorders affected 6.5 per cent of adolescent girls in India.
Kripa Jalan, a non-diet nutritionist, says, “College-age students are particularly susceptible to eating disorders due to life transitions, academic stress, and peer pressure. Moving away from home often results in the loss of a familiar support system, while the desire to fit in socially can intensify body image concerns. The diet-centric culture and pressure to conform to certain body ideals prevalent in college settings, combined with academic stress and a need to control certain aspects of life, create an environment that fosters disordered eating behaviours.”
Kahkashan Sehgal is another 20-year-old, a student who is also balancing an internship alongside college. She has been struggling with her relationship with food, especially with binge-eating. “Since I’m on the larger side, I feel like every time somebody points that out, especially in my family, I cope by eating more rather than controlling it because I think I find that comfort in food,” she says.
Even trends like indie sleaze and heroine chic, which have gained popularity as of late, point towards one thing—skinny is in again. Those of us who don’t fit the mould, have to suffer
Even trends like indie sleaze and heroine chic, which have gained popularity as of late, point towards one thing—skinny is in again.
Those of us who don’t fit the mould, have to suffer
“It’s constantly on my mind that I have to eat healthy. But a minor inconvenience happens, and I go back to eating the way I would. I feel like everybody around me is noticing that I’m eating so much. If I’m eating in a group, I’m always noticing that if there is anyone else taking an extra serving, and only then am I comfortable taking another serving.”
College students operate on tight budgets. Lack of resources to be able to afford proper nutritious meals, and to balance that with academics, internships, and college fests can be difficult. Sehgal says, “I’ve noticed that they [students] would rather spend their last R20 on a cigarette rather than R20 on, say, a packet of chips. I’m not saying that’s healthy, but they would rather smoke a cigarette than eat.”
Sonam Nair, Dr Fabian Almeida and Sakshi Sindwani
Jalan explains, “Access plays a significant role in the prevalence of eating disorders among college students. Many lack basic nutritional literacy, relying instead on influencers or diet trends for guidance. Financial constraints often limit access to fresh produce, protein, and other nutrient-dense foods, making processed and fast food more appealing. Time constraints further push students toward convenience over quality. Additionally, some college campuses are located in areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, compounding the issue.”
Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava is a journalist and writer of Stoned, Shamed, Depressed: An Explosive Account of the Secret Lives of India’s Teens. She says, “It’s a very complex generation. It’s learning new things on all the shows that they are watching. They understand far more than we think they do. And, of course, social media is the answer to everything.”
Shivhare is also a fan of the pop star Lana Del Rey, who has long been controversial for her portrayal of women in her songs. In one song titled Boarding School, Del Rey writes “I’m a fan of pro-ana nation/I do them drugs to stop the food cravings.” When asked about the impact of such songs on young minds, Shivhare says, “By the time you come to college, you have a basic understanding of how these things are wrong. You can see them objectively. I knew I would never accept it. I would never go and say, oh, I have been skipping meals, but skipping a meal did make me feel better about myself.”
Cinema, TV, and social media play a big role in shaping young women’s perceptions of their bodies. But at this point, not only is the media failing to understand women’s relationship with their bodies, but is encouraging all the wrong things. While back in 2014, Tumblr hosted a “pro-ana nation”, today social media sites promote a number of problematic trends on eating disorders.
Even trends like indie sleaze and heroine chic, which have gained popularity as of late, point towards one thing—skinny is in again. “It is actually an unhealthy amount of skinny. It’s her ribs showing. It’s her bones showing out kind of skinny. And even the whole trend of ‘Does this outfit look good or is she just skinny?’ just emphasises, if you’re a skinny girl, outfits will look good on you,” concludes Shivhare.
Body positivity influencer Sakshi Sindwani has amassed an audience of 690K followers, emphasising the message of being unapologetically curvy. She says, “With the rise of Ozempic, I can definitely see that spurring eating disorders and constant body image issues being really big concerns, across genders and age groups. And that’s something that terrifies me. There is not enough research work on the long term effects of it [Ozempic]. That drug is not supposed to be taken for easy weight loss.”
Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava, journalist and writer
“While social media has the potential to raise awareness about eating disorders, its overall impact often worsens the problem. The promotion of unattainable body ideals, “before-and-after” photos, airbrushed images, unqualified diet advice and the constant comparison trap foster dissatisfaction and disordered behaviours. However, when used responsibly, social media can amplify recovery stories, debunk myths and connect individuals with supportive communities,” adds Jalan.
The problem spills over to our films as well. There is a dearth of films on this subject. One of the few movies that deal with this issue is Gippi, whose director Sonam Nair says, “There is a negative impact of always seeing skinny people on screen [as leads], and someone who’s overweight being the comedy element.”
“I grew up idolising Hema Malini and Sridevi. Their characters on screen had well-rounded personalities; they ate and drank and had a sense of humour, and depth. They weren’t just glamorous objects. And then came the new age of actresses in the ’90s. They had a very different, more western body type. I remember consciously thinking they are really thin, and I’m fat. I remember the shift happened when [women’s] bodies became almost Americanised. But any normal Indian girl’s body is not like that, we have some meat on our bones,” says Nair, whose other work includes the Netflix hit Masaba Masaba.
That is precisely why a film like Gippi becomes so important. It is one of the few movies that capture the mix of angst, insecurity, and body dysmorphia that women are facing constantly. Nair says, “So many people over the last 10 to 12 years have come up to me and told me that when they were young, they were only seeing thin people everywhere and felt that they [fat people] were of no value. And then they see the lead girl in one movie is overweight and dealing with these issues. It just makes them feel like their lives also matter, that their stories could also be told on the big screen.”
The lack of awareness around eating disorders also makes them particularly difficult to spot in loved ones. When asked why, Dr Almeida says, “Because, usually, to begin with, it looks nice, and it looks in sync with health and fitness that you want to lose weight. It gives one that pseudo ‘All is well’ feeling.”
Bhargava expands on this: “Do we actually know what’s going on with kids these days? It’s very hard. If they want to hide something, they can hide it. Your kid is going to school. Even if you give them food, that food can be thrown away. Unless we are sitting on their heads 24x7, we don’t really know. And even the best of us—and I claim to be a very hands-on mother—sometimes are like, oh my god. What did I miss here?”
The question remains: how are we addressing this issue? Bhargava believes the answer lies in taking a look at our parenting, “We are not doing what our parents probably did to us at a certain time. We have to tell our kids: ‘You have to finish [your meal]. You have to eat, get up and go. Everyone thinks we are the cool parents, but it’s not good enough. We don’t need cool parenting. We need smart parenting.”
Shivhare says, “I love college, it’s a very positive environment. I love the growth I have had there, but it is also a very toxic environment because it’s equally competitive. And it isn’t competitive just academically or with co-curricular activities. It’s also a competition in—everyone around me is so hot. And I am not.”
“I don’t think our college is equipped to deal with this at all. I don’t think any college is. You are not offered the right professional help. And apart from that, there are even things that just trigger it. Having a horrible canteen definitely triggers it because you would just not want to eat food there. If there were healthier, more hygienic options, maybe people would actually [eat] but people would rather skip a meal than eat unhealthy food.”
Dr Almeida assures us that help is available. Eating disorders are treatable, and there is light at the end of the tunnel for patients. He says, “It starts with a detailed history-taking and in-depth Mental Status Examination (MSE)—covering family background, academics, relationships, and stressors. Family history of any similar complaints, helps decode genetics too. Treatment is then outlined based on the severity of the presentation: mild cases may improve with timely talk therapy and behaviour modification techniques, while moderate to severe cases often require medication too. Medications address neurochemical imbalances like serotonin or dopamine issues, enabling quicker recovery. They need not be a lifelong requirement; they support recovery and are tapered off as patients stabilise.”
The stigma around women’s bodies prevails, as in the case of Sindwani, who is trolled on the internet continuously for how she looks. “I think one of the biggest challenges I face is that people think I’m promoting obesity. People think I’m just being lazy and want to be unfit. Whereas I put in the work to keep myself healthy. I just don’t hate my body. I don’t look at myself in the mirror and tell myself, oh my god, I hate everything that you are, Sakshi. That’s the only thing I don’t do.” In a world where it can be controversial to not hate your own body, it is no wonder then so many of us are struggling so much.
6.5%
Percentage of adolescent girls in India affected by eating disorders, according to a 2018 study by The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences
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