According to a 1982 and 1983 Radcliffe survey that strictly defined bulimia as purging once a week, between 4 and 8 percent of the 400 women and fewer than 1 percent of the 200 men surveyed at Harvard and another Boston-area college could be classified as having bulimia, according to Norma C. Ware, assistant dean of Radcliffe. These findings are consistent with other surveys conducted nationwide.

"Our environment creates a real crazy attitude in demanding people to be thin and exercise a lot, be successful and perfect, all as a package deal. There's also the suggestion that we can still eat what we want and [maintain this image]. There's no woman who isn't affected [in some way by this pressure]," says Honnet.

Since 1950 the body weight of women between the ages of 20 and 30 has been increasing, yet the ideals for women have been decreasing, says EPO co-director Julie M. Mihelich '86. "Women are biologically heavier, but [are under pressure] to become slimmer," she says.

Yet, while only 5 percent of all individuals with eating disorders are men, Honnet believes men are starting to become more vulnerable, especially as men's fashion magazines place a higher premium on men's weight and physique.

Eating problems may develop when people feel a need to gain control over their lives, says Mihelich. "In college, they enter a new situation. At home you are controlled by your parents. At school there are more issues over which you have direct control--how much you eat, study, if you stay out late," she says.

Coeducation may exacerbate a woman's vulnerability to eating problems, experts say. This is in part because women have been socialized to believe that their attractiveness, particularly to potential male partners, is solely a function of body shape.

Women's self-esteem all too frequently becomes inextricably bound to body size. "There's an equation: If I don't have a nice body, I'm not worth anything. This seems to be a pervasive attitude. Many charming, attractive young women come in thinking they're 'gross,'" says Dr. Margaret S. McKenna '70, a University Health Services psychiatrist who advises students on eating disorders.

In many cases, anorexics and bulimics may need medical attention or therapy to overcome the effects of their disorders. "Plenty of people may tell them they look great, but they don't believe it," McKenna says. "And these are extremely successful people."

This story is based on reporting by Kristin A. Goss, Laura S. Kohl and Allison L. Jernow.