Sorority women's body size perceptions and their weight-related attitudes and behaviors

Six hundred twenty-seven sorority women were surveyed to determine if sorority members constituted a subgroup of college women who may be at increased risk for disordered eating. The sorority members were administered Body Mass Index Silhouettes and the Eating Disorder Inventory. The findings indicated that these sorority women may have a greater fear of becoming fat, are more dissatisfied with their bodies, and an more weight preoccupied and concerned with dieting than are college women from previous studies. The findings also suggested that body size perceptions were distorted among both underweight and overweight women and that thin was the ideal body profile for the majority of the women. Although bulimia scores were higher for this population than for those reported in all but one of the previous studies, these differences were not significant. More research and innovative programs designed to address weight-related attitudes and behaviors among this population are called for.