While girls with anorexia are often very thin, girls with bulimia,like Vera,may still be a normal weight, while others may have dramatic weight changes. They alternate periods of starvation with periods of bingeing on food. The causes of eating disorders are very complex. At the same time, adolescence is an age when girls often become very conscious of their weight and their looks. It's also an age when it's normal for girls to gain weight - it's part of the process of becoming a woman.
Some girls also gain weight for other reasons.
All these factors work together to pressure some girls into desperate attempts to lose weight. That's part of the story. But what doctors don't fully understand is what makes some girls more likely to develop eating disorders than others. Other factors that may help cause eating disorders include family conflicts or a feeling that love from family and friends depends on doing very well at school or work. People with eating disorders often have a low opinion of themselves.