A person with an eating disorder, whether it be anorexia, bulimia, or obesity, misuses food in an effort to solve, or even camouflage their problems that they believe are insoluble. (Bruch, 1) Anorexia and bulimia occur because of a fear of becoming fat. Obesity occurs when there is a combination of consuming more calories than one consumes in a day, little or no physical activity, and snacking throughout the day. .
Anorexia is known as self-starvation. Most of the time the girl does not just wake up one morning and decide to stop eating. There is a process, which she goes through. The girl has been slightly overweight, and her parents, peers or boyfriend have mad comments to her about it. She begins to feel self-conscious. Then she decides to begin dieting by cutting down on high-calorie foods, exercising, and slowly stops eating sweets and desserts. With the approval of her friends and family she continues this diet. When she has reached her weight goal, she still feels overweight, and decides to diet further. This will go for months without being noticed. She will wear baggy clothes, hide food, to throw away later, and avoid going out to eat with friends. These girls will eat foods that are high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and are low in calories. (Hawkins II, 28) .
This quest to become thin consumes her life. She believes that if she can control her weight that she will then, be able to control her life. This girl believes that to be thin is desirable, and necessary for success. Admiration of her friends is achieved. She has become thin, but now she finds herself imprisoned by the disease. (Dally, 13) .
The body of a person who is anorexic undergoes changes. There is the obvious weight loss, and then all of the other, internal and external problems that arise. Her period begins to slow down, and then ceases. There are metabolic complications, such as yellow skin, impaired taste, and hypoglycemia.