Many women and men are fixated on how they look and how people perceive them.  The physical appearance is the first thing we see when meeting someone and then follows conversation and their personality.  Looking a certain way is very important to people.  It ranges from the type of car you drive to the new “it” item your wearing this season.  Models are known to be thin especially runway models that have to be 10lbs thinner than commercial models.  Labels with can be a girls worst enemy. The idea of having two digits instead of one is subconsciously telling him/her to lose weight.  The smaller the number the better fit of the clothes and how much prettier he/she is.

Eating disorders are a growing concern many people at some point in their lives have had one whether they realized it or not.  Not eating for days, eating and then forcing themselves to get sick, hoarding food, using food as punishment are examples of a eating disorder even if your not a size 2.

Pressure from cultural backgrounds can play a role.  Having thin family members and expectations of how you should look.  They may see them living an unhealthy lifestyle and have little respect for someone who doesn’t take care of themselves.  Their actions and words can be demeaning and make the person feel even more insecure and develop low self-esteem.  With low self-esteem the person feels useless and tries to please everyone and including herself to any means.  Drastic measures may occur to make the person feel better about themselves and to prove to others they are worth something.