eating disorders tend to runin families. Authorities at the University of Illinois point to evidence suggesting thateating disorders result from an inherited predisposition to mood swings and depression.Other evidence reveals an increased incidence of major depression and alcoholism inblood relatives of persons with bulimia or bulimic variations of anorexia nervosa. Specialists from the UCLA Eating Disorder Program and elsewhere create a profile of theanorexic girl as intelligent, compliant, and perfectionista "good girl" who usuallyattempts to please others while battling with low self-esteem. Often, she is strugglingwith conflicting feelings about puberty, sexuality and maturity.Low self-esteem is also a problem for people with bulimia, but they tend to be lesspassive and more socially active. However, they may suffer from high levels of anxiety,using the binge-purge cycle to relieve stress. They may be using food for comfort, payinga price of guilt and shame later....
