College students and others throughout the country are becoming more likely to develop eating disorders because of body images shown in the media, but a two-time Olympic gold medalist is trying to fight back.

Michelle Hall, staff psychologist and program coordinator for the eating disorder outreach team, said she saw two-time Olympic gold medalist Tiffany Cohen speak at Pennsylvania State University last fall.

“I have been trying to get Cohen to ISU since I saw her speak,” Hall said.

Cohen will speak about her battle with bulimia in a lecture at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Lush Auditorium in Kildee Hall.

Bulimia is an eating disorder characterized by a behavior after eating to rid the body of food, Hall said. Ridding the body of food can be done by overexercising, laxative use or vomiting, she said.

Hall said one in 10 female college students is suffering from and eating disorder.

Ninety-three percent of people suffering from eating disorders are women, but men’s statistics are increasing each year, she said.

“We are seeing that, nationally, [eating disorders are] starting younger and younger,” she said. “By the time students are getting to campus, some of them have been struggling for a while,” she said. “[But] the sooner we catch an eating disorder, the sooner we can get a student on the road to recovery.”

Calli Sanders, associate athletic director, said the ISU athletic department takes eating disorders very seriously. She said the department has a prevention and treatment program, and if a student is at risk, the department works with the student to help correct the situation.

Denise Harklau, head women’s athletic trainer, said she is very involved with Student Counseling to help athletes she feels are at risk or may have developed an eating disorder.

“My goal is to organize the resources, identify the athletes who might have a problem and show them how to utilize the resources on campus,” Harklau said.

For the past two years, the athletic department and health and human nutrition department have been evaluating incoming freshmen for red flags indicating they might have an eating disorder, she said.

Hall said she knew Cohen had earned two gold medals in the 1984 Olympics at age 16. After she went to college, her eating disorder really took effect. She said Cohen had to drop out of college to get help, but has since recovered and re-entered the athletics scene.

“As a healthy adult, she competes in triathlons and talks about the differences in training between a healthy person and a [person with eating disorders],” Hall said.

Harklau and Hall said they have been working to get Cohen to the ISU campus and are glad she agreed.

“We are really excited to have Tiffany here,” Hall said. “It’ll be a good opportunity for our athletes and the student body to hear a real person’s story.”

Hall said students who want help dealing with an eating disorder, or think they might have one, should come to Student Counseling Services for an eating disorder assessment.

Hall said if the determination is made the student might have a problem, he or she is asked to attend three to five sessions with a counselor to talk about life experiences with food and food cognitions.

She said once the student goes through the sessions, the treatment team steps in. The team includes a staff psychologist, a nutritionist and a physician.

“One thing I would remind this student of is they are their own team captain,” Hall said.