Imagine a student who refuses to eat rajma chawal made by her mother, skips her best friend's birthday cake, ponders over the ingredients in her tiffin and feels guilty after eating one mithai. People around her call her health-conscious… but is she really that? Millions of students and young adults like her are so fixated on healthy eating that it negatively affects their well-being. It becomes a compulsion rather than a choice. 

Every day, students walk into classrooms carrying battles that remain unnoticed. Eating disorders are one of the most dangerous hidden struggles that one goes through. There is a lot of misunderstanding regarding that as well. Conditions like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa affect a large number of students and young people. Early recognition can make a real difference and can even save lives. Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that involves limiting how much one eats due to a distorted self-image.

For millions of students, leaving home for university is one of the biggest transitions of their lives. It is challenging as well as exciting. Along with new friends, a new environment and new freedom comes one surprisingly new change– the food on their plate. Whether you are eating your mother’s dal and rice or standing in a long queue in a mess with a steel tray in your hand, what you eat is about far more than appetite. It shapes your health, your mood and your ability to study.