What Causes Anorexia and Bulimia in Teens?
No one is really sure what causes eating disorders, although there are many theories as to why people develop them. Most people who develop an eating disorder are between the ages of 14 and 18 (although they can develop even earlier in some people). At this time in their lives, many teens don’t feel as though they have much control over anything. The physical and emotional changes that go along with puberty can make it easy for even the most confident person to feel a bit out of control. By controlling their own bodies, people with eating disorders feel as though they can regain some control – even if it is done in an unhealthy way. For girls, even though it’s completely normal (and necessary) to gain some additional body fat during puberty, some respond to this change by becoming very fearful of their new weight and feel compelled to get rid of it any way they can. It’s easy to see why people may develop a fear of any weight gain, even if it’s healthy and temporary: We’re overloaded b
