Beach-goers everywhere are sizing themselves up and may be deciding, “this just won’t do.”

Especially during this time of year, countless women may feel pressured to fit into certain clothes for the warm weather. Eating disorders abound, as binging and purging, starvation and extreme amounts of exercise may seem like the right solution. According to Annie Hayashi, director of communications for the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 7 million women in the United States have an eating disorder.

“There is more and more emphasis [on body image] in the spring,” said Michael Flora, president and CEO of the Ben Gordon Center, a counseling and treatment center for mental disorders and substance abuse.

The warmer weather “increases attention that young adults have on their bodies,” Flora said.

Such attention can cause stress while shopping for summer. Many women agree living up to the expectation of the summer style is too great.

“I do [feel pressure]. Girls are expected to wear the short shorts and the short tank tops,” said sophomore elementary education major Lindsay Genslinger.

Freshman elementary education major Shannon Lally feels there is pressure, but said, “I’m not going to go through an eating disorder to fit into summer clothes.”

Others agreed with this. Freshman marketing major Katie Traficanti said she wouldn’t put herself through anything as extreme as an eating disorder but said “it might cause me to go to the gym every once in awhile.”

On the surface, eating disorders may seem solely about weight loss, but they are more complicated than that.

“Eating disorders are not about food. With eating disorders, people try to deal with their emotions by eating or not eating,” said Gulin Guneri-Minton, a counselor at the NIU Counseling and Student Development Center.

An eating disorder is categorized by a preoccupation with weight and food, but it goes beyond those two aspects. Technically, eating disorders are mental illnesses.

“The biggest factor is the lack of control. The one thing they feel like they can control is their eating,” Guneri-Minton said of those with eating disorders.

This desire for control with food intake is caused by not being able to handle other aspects of life.

According to Flora, “with each of the eating disorders, there are several components, but they all have a main thread: the obsessive-compulsive behavior.”

How have so many women fallen victim to such disorders as anorexia and bulimia? Societal demands play a large role in the development of eating disorders. Bombarded by images of unrealistic bodies and diet products, young girls can easily be swept up into the weight-loss state of mind.

“The more that they are exposed to images in the media, the more susceptible people are [to developing an eating disorder],” Guneri-Minton said.

According to ANAD, the female body portrayed as “perfect” by the media is naturally possessed by only 5 percent of American women.

Everyday women and a growing number of men develop eating disorders that can complicate and endanger their health. Ninety-five percent of people with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25, and “the majority do not seek any kind of treatment,” Flora said, because of the stigma attached to eating disorders.

Raising awareness of eating disorders can help lower the number of people who have them.

“The sooner these disorders are diagnosed and treated, the better the outcomes are likely to be,” Flora said.