The results of a survey released Friday on eating attitudes and behaviors at Princeton University revealed a 9 percent self-reported rate of eating disorders among respondents.
Of the 379 students who took the survey, 6 percent reported they had sought treatment for an eating disorder and 53 percent of students who reported having an eating disorder said it began at Princeton.
The Princeton student group that administered the survey, the Eating Concerns Peer Educators, "wanted to get some numbers to quantify (the) feelings about perfection and thinness" on Princeton's campus, said senior Olivia Albrecht, a member of ECPE. Armed with the survey data, the group now plans to push Princeton's administration to grant it funding and a more visible role on campus, including a mandatory presentation during first-year orientation week.
Last spring, ECPE members sent out an e-mail to 900 randomly selected students - roughly one-fifth of Princeton's undergraduate population - inviting them to take the anonymous, online survey, which took about 20 minutes. Albrecht said the survey was based on several professional questionnaires and assessment tools that have been used nationally. It included questions about eating habits and self-esteem and used height and weight to calculate respondents' body mass index.
The survey's results may not be completely reliable because the respondents were self-selecting.
"The numbers could be skewed. ... It's self reporting so (the eating disorder) number could be much higher or could be much lower" than reality, Albrecht said.
Albrecht said the competitive culture at Princeton, and elite universities generally, may account for the high percentage of eating disorders.
"Everyone here has to be thin - or is thin - and exercises way too much and doesn't eat - everyone thinks this is the normal thing," she said. "You don't see anyone who's overweight on campus and that's not typical for America right now or, I think, this age group," she added.
Albrecht said she was particularly troubled by the 53 percent of those with eating disorders who reported that their eating disorders began at Princeton.
"I think that's astronomical. That's one of the big numbers I personally find appalling," she said. "A lot of people are predisposed to eating disorders, but it might have something to do with Princeton."
"It's a hard number to work with ... (because) this is a common age that people develop eating disorders," Albrecht added.
Another ECPE member, Monica Wojcik, said at Princeton and colleges in general, students are vulnerable to developing unhealthy eating habits.
"We are kind of isolated - all you see is Princeton students. Most of them are average weight or thin, you never really see any overweight people," Wojcik said. "People tend to be perfectionists," she added.
According to ECPE members, the survey appears to be the first of its kind.
"What's interesting about this is we did try to find comparative results ... and the cool-slash-annoying part is that no one has done anything like this," Albrecht said.
The survey also included a 14-question, true-or-false knowledge assessment section, which included questions about Princeton's resources for eating disorders. Only 2 percent of respondents got a perfect score.
"There's no reason why people shouldn't be getting a perfect score. ... We feel like in this area we can make a really big improvement," Wojcik said.
At Brown, there have not been any surveys similar to ECPE's, at least in the recent past.
"We haven't done any surveys like that in several years and we tend to rely on national statistics as the best measure we have on this issue," Frances Mantak, director of Health Education, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald.
According to Heather Bell, a nutritionist at Health Services, Brown does not formally track the numbers of students who come to Health Services seeking treatment for eating disorders.
"My guess is the prevalence is similar to what you would find at other Ivy League campuses," Bell said.
She said that Health Services helps treat students with eating disorders "every day," but that the frequency varies according to the time of year.
"Toward the end of the second semester is a particularly intense time," Bell said. "We have been getting lots of new people coming in saying, 'I have an issue.' "
Bell said that Health Services plans to switch to electronic medical records this summer, which will potentially make capturing eating disorder data easier. However, "we don't have a formal plan to track" the information, she said.
In addition to Brown Heath Services and Psychological Services, Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders holds support groups for students. Sofia Bengoa '07, who coordinated ANAD last year, said around five to seven students typically attend meetings.
