The report suggest that girls from families with higher academic achievement are at relatively greater risk, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Jennie Ahren-Moonga of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
It's possible, the researchers write, that these girls feel more pressure from family to succeed -- which for some could translate into an obsession with controlling their eating and body weight.
In addition, higher-achieving girls may be more likely to have certain personality traits, such as perfectionism, that make them relatively more vulnerable to eating disorders.
These high demands likely play an important role in eating disorder development, Ahren-Moonga said.
"This is even more relevant," she noted, "when combined with low self- esteem, as the feeling of not being able to live up to expectations plays a crucial role in both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa."
Overall, girls whose parents went to college had about twice the risk of being treated for an eating disorder as those whose parents had only an elementary-school education.
The risk was six times higher among girls whose maternal grandmothers had a college education, compared with those whose grandmothers went only to elementary school.
Similarly, girls with the highest grades at age 15 had twice the risk of hospitalization as girls with the lowest grades.
We remain somewhat skeptical, but admit the study provides food for thought.
It very well may point to a group of girls who may be at risk, but it does not prove that the desire to succeed or obtain greater education and school achievement leads to eating disorders in girls.
If you would like more information, check out the American Journal of Epidemiology, September 1, 2009.
