Beauty

 The main reason why women develop eating disorders is not because they are unintelligent, stupid, or any other terrible assumption, but because they lack self-esteem. Before you jump to how what others think about them shouldn't bother them, let me tell you - It does. A women with an eating disorder could have low self-esteem for many reasons. I'm going to break the list of countless reasons down into two seperate categories; A: Abandonement and B: Pressure.
 I will start with group A. Girls from group A have a sense of feeling alone, feeling worthless or un-needed because of something someone said or did to them. This girl is the one who comes from a broken home, the one who eats lunch by herself at school, the one always looking down. She feels like nobody wants her. She hates how she feels, and every day she races her brain - Why does nobody want me? Why does everyone hate me? This girl comes to believe it's her weight.
 Don't get me wrong, other girls come to decide something else, but they develop coping-mechanisms different than an eating disorder. Continuing on, this group A girl starts to try and fix herself. Others will look at her and say things like, "Why aren't you eating much? Aren't you hungry?" or "You're always working out. Take a break" Then, they'll realize. They'll start to assure her that's she not fat and that she should take a break, eat. This makes her feel like, as many say, a "normal" diet, won't be accepted.
 But, she wants to be wanted, and she thinks she needs to be thinner to be wanted. So what does she do? She starts purging and fasting in secret to loose the weight.
 With each pound she sheds, an ounce of happiness is gained.
 A girl from group B is simular, but she does not feel abandoned, she feels pressured. She is the perfect little girl that everyone wants to be. She's the popular girl with all the friends, who's always smiling and who is always happy. She gets so used to her life, that she feels the need to stay that way.
 Generally, for a girl from group B to develop an eating disorder, something has to happen that makes her feel like she's loosing her popularity. Chad dumped her. She lost the cheerleading tournament. Whatever. She just doesn't feel like she's the same star she was last week. So she, like girls from group A, starts to think - Why did Chad dump her? Why did she loose the tournament? Why is she loosing her popularity? She decides it's because she's getting too fat.
 She can't go on a diet. What would people say about her...? So, in the end, she, like group A girls, fixes herself by purging or fasting in secret.

I know what you're thinking;

"They should just get over it."
"Go find some help, crybabies."
"Who cares what other people think?"
 The truth is, an eating disorder is just like any other mental disorder. There is ALWAYS a root to a problem. In order to fix their eating disorder and start healthy diet and exericse plans, they need to accept themselves. In order to do so, they need to talk to someone. They need to feel understood by others.
 In conclusion, women do not develop eating disorders merely because they are unintelligent or enjoy wallowing in self-pity.