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Shocking Health Trends among Students in 2016

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Written by DanMu   
Friday, 28 October 2016 04:08

The healthcare community has always been concerned with the student population. This demographic has a unique set of needs that is impacted by youth, lack of education, finances, and other factors. Each year, a few health trends emerge among students that warrant attention and concern. The following are some health trends that are impacting students this year.

Vaping and E-cigs

Go anywhere college students frequent, and you will probably see at least one vape pen for every few students. This is because vaping, and to a lesser extent e-cigs, are becoming more and more popular among college students. At first look, this might seem like a good thing. After all, many Gen Xers, Boomers, and older Millennials are using vaping as a means to give up regular cigarettes and chew. Here is the problem. While these populations are using e-cigs to step down their nicotine consumption, college students are not.

The truth is, for many college students, vaping is not the path away from nicotine addiction. Instead, it is the starting point. This means that rather than consuming lower levels of nicotine, they frequently increase the amount that they use. The fact that college students are seeking out the pleasurable effects of nicotine at such a young age, should be a cause of concern for parents and health professionals.

Mental Health Self-Advocacy

Some of the most serious mental illnesses that people can face often come apparent during late adolescence and into the early twenties. This includes clinical depression and schizophrenia. In addition to this, anxiety, stress, homesickness, and situational depression. Sadly, without proper support and resources, struggling students often turn to self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, or worse, suicide.

For years, getting appropriate services to these students was difficult. In some cases, there were simply not enough resources. In others, stigmatization was an issue. Today, these issues still exist, however things are getting better. One particular bright spot is that awareness and education about mental illness is much better than it ever was. Because of this, more students are empowered to advocate on behalf of themselves when it comes to seeking out help, knowing their rights in the educational setting, and engaging in healthy self-care practices. Hopefully in the future this trend will continue and students will proactively pursue both mental health and academic health.

Sexual Assault Remains a Serious Issue

The Brock Turner case horrified and disgusted people across the globe. Even worse, was the fact that his case was not unusual. It was simply a very public representation of a very real problem that exists on college campuses. In fact, a survey was presented to nearly 400 men attending a large university in the Southeast. Most were athletes. More than half answered affirmatively that they had coerced a partner into having sex with them. Most of the answers detailed actions that met the legal definition of sexual assault.

It gets worse. The Brock Turner case revealed that even when a conviction is gained, the judicial system concerns itself more with the future and reputation of the criminal than the impact of the crime on the victim. Before and after the news broke on this case, women in college have reported being pressured into dropping assault charges, intimidated by campus police, and harassed and bullied on social media. Fraternities have engaged in street harassment and have taken such shocking actions as hanging banners up advocating rape. One in four women report having been sexually assaulted in school. Unfortunately, official response has not yet equally matched public outcry.

Marijuana Use Increases

The amount of students using marijuana is definitely increasing. This can be attributed to several factors. Legalization and decriminalization are certainly two important factors. Now that many students have few legal consequences to face, that is one less barrier to them using pot. The second factor is increasing social acceptance. Marijuana use is simply less stigmatized among college students, and even their parents when compared to older generations. Increasing evidence of the health benefits of marijuana also carries weight.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to this. One of the newer trends in marijuana consumption is the extraction of cannabis oil from the marijuana plant that is then processed and sold as ‘dabs’. These are then smoked using dab rigs. The risk of doing dabs is significantly higher than smoking or ingesting marijuana. The high is more intense, and immediate. Then there is the process of extracting oils that can be both toxic and a fire hazard. Finally, if care is not taken, the final product can also contain harmful chemicals.

Here is one positive note. As marijuana use has increased, the use of hard drugs, including heroin, has begun to decrease. It will be interesting to see if this decrease correlates with further decriminalization efforts in the future.

Clean Eating as a Gateway to Eating Disorders

Orthorexia is an eating disorder that is defined as the unhealthy obsession with eating healthy foods. This is a new development for those who see eating disorders as limited to extreme calorie limitations, over exercising, and purging. Unlike anorexia or binge eating where disordered thinking and perception lead to extreme dieting, overeating, or excessive exercise, with orthorexia, it is the diet itself that leads to the disordered thinking.

When students leave home to attend school, they often begin forming a sort of dietary identity. They eschew foods that they disliked as children, many take advantage of the fact that they are able to make independent food choices. It is not uncommon for students to explore veganism, clean eating, or other dietary options. For most, this is not a problem, and can lead to a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, some students become obsessed with following these diets, and often seek out the most restrictive forms of these diets. The results can be disastrous, even deadly. People suffering from this disorder can literally starve themselves through excessive calorie restriction, or lack of nutrition.

Conclusion

So, considering these trends, what is the best way to address the current healthcare needs of students? The answer is a combination of education, access to services, and support that meets students where they are, not where we wish they were.

About the author: Dante Munnis is a contributor on Papers Board. He shares his opinion about on popular health trends among students. Also he likes to give some advises to students on how to be healthy in the university.

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