Barbara Fouts was a sophomore who shared an apartment with four other girls at a university campus.

Something had been amiss in the apartment for the past few months, but no one could pinpoint what it was.

Junk food like brownies, ice cream and potato chips had been mysteriously disappearing.

The bathroom sometimes smelled like someone had been throwing up in it.

Not exactly a 911 situation.

It could have been, if the girls hadn’t discovered one of their roommates had an eating disorder.

The signs had been there since freshman year, but it was not until they moved into the apartment that the pieces started fitting together.

Barbara Fouts now is an assistant director at the Counseling and Student Development Center and has helped many young students with eating disorders.

Warning signals to keep an eye out for are people who lose large amounts of weight in short periods of time, students who constantly head to the bathroom after meals or make excuses to not eat with the rest of their friends, said Jennifer Panning, a counselor for the center.

If you have a friend you suspect is having problems, it is important that you confront him or her.

It is important to be non-defensive, but to hold the person accountable for their actions, Fouts said.

People with eating disorders are typically defensive and it takes more than one attempt to elicit the truth from them.

It is important to communicate care and not be judgmental of them, Panning said.

According to a handout from the center, the key is to make “I” statements such as “I’m concerned about you because you refuse to eat” and not “you” statements such as “You have to eat something.”

“Offer to go see a counselor together, even if it means you will be sitting in the waiting room,” Fouts said.

Fouts and her college roommates went to the therapist for a few group sessions.

Talking about the problem helps overcome the shame that people with eating disorders feel, she said.

The Counseling and Student Development Center can be called at 753-1206, or visit online at www.stuaff.niu.edu/csdc/csdchome.htm