Helpful or harmful? The comparative value of self-weighing and calorie counting versus intuitive eating on the eating disorder symptomology of college students.

OBJECTIVE: The current study evaluated the comparative implications of self-weighing and calorie counting versus intuitive eating (IE) on the eating disorder (ED) severity of college students. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, college students in the US [N = 902; 68% female; mean body mass index (BMI) = 24.3] completed the web-based Healthy Bodies Study in 2015. RESULTS: A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that elevated BMI, more frequent self-weighing and calorie counting, and lower IE scores predicted increased ED severity. The results of Kruskal-Wallis H tests indicated that participants with elevated weight statuses engaged in self-weighing and calorie counting more frequently, and possessed lower IE scores, than their lower weight counterparts. CONCLUSION: Engaging in self-weighing and calorie counting was adversely associated with ED severity among the present sample of college students. Cultivating IE within health promotion efforts may, instead, lead to favorable eating-related outcomes that may translate to the holistic health of this population. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V cross-sectional descriptive study.

Bridging the Gap: Connecting Resident Assistants and Suicidal Residents Through Gatekeeper Training.

One hundred sixty-two resident assistants (RAs) at a large southeastern university were randomly assigned to attend either a specialized 1-hr training program in suicide prevention (intervention group) or a stress and time management skills training program (control group). The results failed to show the suicide prevention training program had any impact on RA intervention behaviors, resident help-seeking behaviors, or RA perceptions of resident distress and suicidality 4 months following training. Results are interpreted and discussed in relation to strengthening suicide prevention training programs on college campuses.