
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, November 28, 1995                   TAG: 9511280033
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DON COLBURN THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STUDY SHOWS DECREASE IN WOMEN'S EATING DISORDERS

Eating disorders, particularly among women, have decreased significantly over the past decade, a study of college students suggests.

The prevalence of bulimia nervosa fell from 7.2 percent to 5.1 percent among young women and from 1.1 percent to 0.4 percent among young men, the study found. Binge eating decreased by about 10 percent among both women and men. Use of purgatives, such as diuretics, diet pills and vomiting, also declined.

On average, young women were 5 pounds heavier in 1992 than young women in 1982, researchers found. Men's average weight gained by 2 pounds. Despite the weight increase, women were less likely in 1992 to see themselves as overweight.

The study compared results from a detailed survey of a random sample of 901 college students in 1982 with results of a nearly identical survey of 799 students at the same college 10 years later. Students were asked about body weight, eating habits, dieting and eating disorders.

The study was conducted by researchers at Dartmouth College; results were reported in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychology.

Researchers said their findings were ``both encouraging and discouraging.'' While symptoms of eating disorders abated significantly between 1982 and 1992, they noted, the levels remained fairly high and ``body dissatisfaction and desire to lose weight were still the norm for more than 70 percent of young women.''

But binge eating appeared to be on the decline. In 1992, the vast majority of male and female students reported never engaging in binge eating. Ten years earlier, nearly half of the young women reported current or past binge eating, and more than one in four reported binge eating regularly.

The reason for the decline in eating disorders is unclear, researchers said. One possibility is that the risks of binge eating and crash dieting are better known now than in 1982, they said. Also, students may be more reluctant to report eating disorders, which may carry more stigma today.

by CNB