An Article: Eating Disorders and Sororities

CrimsonTide4 · #1 08-11-2002, 08:38 AM

Eating Disorder a Risk in Sorority, Dorm Students
Fri Aug 9, 5:42 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - College students who belong to live-in sororities may be at higher risk for developing an eating disorder than those women living in dormitories, according to a survey of students at one Michigan university.

Sorority members were more likely to use diet pills, avoid high fat foods and report that their weight concerns interfered with their social relationships than women who did not belong to sororities.

However, the researchers found no statistical difference between women considered "at risk" for eating disorders who belonged to a sorority (13%) and those living in college dorms (10%).

Those who were considered "at risk" had scores high enough on a test of disordered eating to warrant a doctor's visit, but did not have an actual diagnosis of anorexia or bulimia, according to the report in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

The risk for an eating disorder tended to vary by sorority, with a high of 15% in one sorority where all of the women lived in the same sorority house.

Research suggests up to 5% of college women have been diagnosed with an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia, and experts speculate that many more of these women have eating problems that have not been diagnosed.

In the new study, Dr. Sharon L. Hoerr and colleagues at Michigan State University in East Lansing distributed surveys to men and women that asked about their eating attitudes and habits and got useable responses from 1,620.

They found that almost 11% of all women and 4% of men were at risk for eating disorders. Hoerr's team also found that about 17% of women surveyed and 10% of men said their weight concerns interfered with their academic performance.

"Students at risk for disordered eating report weight concerns interfering with their academic performance and include both men and African Americans, as well as Caucasian American women," they write. "Sorority women living in separate residences might be at increased risk."

SOURCE: Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2002;21:307-314.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...rity_dorm_dc_1

aephi alum · #2 08-11-2002, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
The risk for an eating disorder tended to vary by sorority, with a high of 15% in one sorority where all of the women lived in the same sorority house.

What, did that sorority circle their new members' fat?

Peaches-n-Cream · #3 08-11-2002, 09:46 PM

Women who suffer from eating disorders are in their teen and early twenties, highly intelligent, and high achieving perfectionists. These are the same type of women who tend to join sororities so I'm not surprised that they might overlap.

SoCalGirl · #4 08-11-2002, 09:47 PM

I can't stand it when researchers do half assed studies!!!!

IMHO sorority women are more likely to have their eating disorders recognized and treated because they're living and interacting with the same 20-100 other women for 4 years. If you're changing dorms and roommates every year, it's a lot easier to conceal.

The article did not say, but I'm guessing that the study was done using NPC or predominantly white houses. NPC sororities have houses more often than not. NPHC houses tend to not have chapter houses. White women have a higher rate of eating disorders than black women. Did they take that into consideration when working out their statistics???

Let's look at the common traits of sorority women and women with eating disorders.

Sorority Women
Leaders
Above average students
Hard workers/driven
Goal oriented
Dislike losing
Likely to come from families that share these traits.

Women with EDs
Leaders
Above average students
Hard workers/driven
Goal oriented
Dislike losing
Likely to come from families that share these traits. (Studies have shown that women w/ EDs suffer from OCD and usually has a least one parent w/ OCD.)

So if you must draw a correlation. Notice correlation not causation.

Women with an ED are likely to join a sorority. It's not that women join and then suddenly have an ED.

nucutiepie · #5 08-11-2002, 09:56 PM

In addition to women with eating disorders being the same type of women who tend to join sororities, women with eating disorders often, as far as i have seen (although I am the farthest thing from a medical professional) play off of each other and strengthen each other's disorders.

One girl I went to both HS and college with confided in me that she was a bulimic. All through high school, she and her high school best friend would binge and purge together and support each other's problems. When she isn't around her HS best friend, her bulimia, while still present, isn't as bad as it used to be.

There's cases of this in the house too - the same group of girls who eat ONLY salads and go running together every morning at 8 AM. It's like they've bonded over their issues with food and weight - which, IMHO, might make those girls with marginal eating disorders a little worse off if they have someone else to emulate.

nyrdrms · #6 08-11-2002, 09:59 PM

Well put SoCalGirl

KillarneyRose · #7 08-11-2002, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
Sorority members were more likely to use diet pills, avoid high fat foods and report that their weight concerns interfered with their social relationships than women who did not belong to sororities.

This certainly DOES appear to be a "half assed" study. And besides, since when has it become a negative thing to avoid high fat foods?

squirrely girl · #8 08-12-2002, 12:38 AM

Quote:

However, the researchers found no statistical difference between women considered "at risk" for eating disorders who belonged to a sorority (13%) and those living in college dorms (10%).

Quote:

In the new study, Dr. Sharon L. Hoerr and colleagues at Michigan State University in East Lansing distributed surveys to men and women that asked about their eating attitudes and habits and got useable responses from 1,620.

please read the above. this wasn't (from my humble psych student background) a half-assed study. yes, there are applications to sorority houses. but there is also a huge application to freshman women living in dorms. all research starts somewhere. this is simply a starting point. and not to point out the obvious, but this was a tiny little print article, not the entire research study. the bit 'bout sorority houses prolly got a paragraph total as a possible application of the overall findings.

one more example of media seeing and hearing what they want to hear. . .

it's bad enough when they do that to greek life...but darn if they're gonna do it to psychology too...ehhhhhhhhh...

sorry, i'm done with my rant now...

marissa

AlphaSigLana · #9 08-12-2002, 12:40 AM

WEll if other houses had as much fatty food as my house then I would believe girls wouldn't be eating. LOL
Ii've studied eating disorders and the facts listed by SoCalGirl are true!!!
Athletes suffer from disorders as well especially male wrestlers. My house is basically on average a size 12 . So I don't think a sorority causes the problem unless they expect you to be a certain size.
Eating disorders are a serious issue and we need to help out our sistersif they are suffering from this problem. I on the other hand enjoy food a little too much.

Lady Pi Phi · #10 08-12-2002, 06:55 AM

Studies that are published in the mainstream media don't give you all the facts. Basically they are a synopsis of the results found. If you want to read the study find out what journal it was published in.

If anyone wants more information on eating disorders you should should go and check out NEDIC (National Eating Disorder Information Centre) website. It's a Toronto based non-profit organization. It has great information. It has also has links to other great websites.

http://www.nedic.ca

Pi Phi Love and Mine,

Emily