Anorexia Is More Likely In Girls From High-Achieving Families And All Girls Schools

A study of more than 55,000 teenage girls found that eating disorders are more common in schools where students have parents with university degrees. Students from all girls' schools are also more likely to succumb to anorexia.

The study concluded that girls from schools where a quarter of students were female and a quarter of the students' parents had degrees led to a 1.3 percent of girls developing eating disorders. When three-quarters of the student population were girls and three-quarters of the parents had high degrees, the figured rose to 3.3 percent.

The research, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, examined data of girls older than 16 years old. The data helped researchers determine which factors boosted the likelihood of eating disorders.

Anorexia is more likely to spread among girls from high-achieving backgrounds, according to researchers from Oxford University. Researchers noted that the demands of school and parents with high aspirations are most likely the causes that have placed a lot of pressure on young girls.

Girls with parents from educated families have higher aspirations and greater demands, according to Helen Bould, psychiatrist and researcher of the study. Striving for perfectionism and being thin are strongly associated with eating disorders.

Girls are also more inclined to copy the weight loss tactics of other girls in an effort to fit in, according to Daily Mail. Students from single-sex schools also view achievement as more important and typically associated being thin to intelligence and professional success.

The study found that 2.4 percent of girls have been diagnosed with an eating disorder before reaching the age of 20. Children as young as seven years old have been diagnosed, according to psychotherapist Abigail Natenshon.

More than 60 percent of elementary and middle schools teachers in the U.S. have reported eating disorders as a problem in their schools. The average onset of anorexia used to be between aged 13 and 17. Today, the average is between ages 9 to 12, according to CNN.

The condition can lead to serious complications such as heart damage and brittle bones. Anorexic people are also six times more likely to die younger.

Unfortunately, counseling only amounted to 10 percent of patients recovering from the condition. Medications to help anorexic people are also known to be of little help.