Little girls tend to want to be the type of women their fathers would like or marry. Fathers who make comments about body-size and weight about other women, their wives and their daughters can make the child feel as though the size of her body dictates how much he will love her. It can create an obsession with her weight and a battle to seek her father's love and approval. Being that women tend to have a higher percentage of body-image issues than men, mothers tend to influence their daughter's beliefs about being comfortable with their own bodies. Be proper, don't gain weight, keep up with your looks, never be caught dead without make-up all contribute to the belief that they only deserve love if they look their best.
Siblings pick on each other.
Continuous harassment involving weight and body image issues by a brother or sister may contribute to a child's development of an Eating Disorder. In a lot of cases it may increase the child's level of responsibility in the family. There may also be a subconscious desire to be sick themselves in order to get equal attention or acceptance from parents and other family members. The death of a sibling creates an extreme trauma in a child's life. They may feel angry, powerless and depressed.