Of that number, five percent began battling their disease in college, according to the official Johns Hopkins web site. Most eating disorders come at a very stressful time in the patient's life. According to the John Hopkins Website, eating disorders can be triggered by loss, trauma, relationship difficulties or a change in lifestyle, such as entering the teen years or going to college. Duncan said most eating disorders start when a girl begins to diet and then loses control. Northwestern sociology Professor Bernard Beck said eating disorders within sororities are often a behavior learned while at college.
People study and learn form one another.
News of how to keep your weight down is likely to circulate in these settings. The values of fasting and purging are accepted and shared within college sororities, Beck said. People living together with a common goal share methodologies. Brenda Bohnsack, a coordinator of sorority group discussions for the Health Education Department, said methods of weight loss are bound to be shared in a setting like a sorority. Bohnsack said many of the women in sororities develop eating disorders because they feel bad about not exercising as much, or eating as little, as everyone else.