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Hanlon, K. (n.d.). What Is The Relationship Between Low Self-Esteem and Eating Disorders?. //Psychology Department//. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/esteem.htm
 * 1) 43% were classified as having low self-esteem and were taking measures to improve their appearance. In a follow-up study, the researchers discovered that as puberty progresses, these same girls were at a much greater risk to exhibit symptoms of disordered eating by the time they were 16 years old.
 * 2) The first and easiest method that many girls choose of improving the self is dieting.
 * 3) In addition, patients with eating disorders also exhibit other traits associated with low self-esteem, such as problems with their overall self-image, excessive concern over weight and shape, and globally negative attitudes about their self-control and discipline.
 * 4) When girls are insecure about their identity, they often shift the focus from their inner selves to their physical bodies, allowing their physical appearance to become their sense of self.
 * 5) Studies have shown that during this period of time, girls often experience a decrease in academic performance, increased self-consciousness and lowered self-esteem.
 * 6) Studies reported indicate that when adolescent girls are insecure, they become significantly more self-conscious.
 * 7) Without a strong sense of identity, adolescent girls begin to feel poorly about themselves, and the manifestation of this self-consciousness is often a measure such as dieting and unrealistic expectations for their physical appearance.
 * 8) Without a positive and strong sense of identity, many teenagers suffer from low self-esteem and self-doubt.
 * 9) The process of identity formation is typically harder for girls than for boys, leading to "girls' greater identity instability, higher self-consciousness, greater concerns about popularity, lower body esteem, and lower selfesteem"
 * 10) Self-consciousness leads to increased self-criticism, leaving the adolescent extremely vulnerable to disordered eating.
 * 11) Stress is often thought to be one of the antecedents to eating disorders because it intensifies the preoccupation with the body, which usually leads to lowered self-esteem
 * 12) The solution to the low self-esteem is, for many girls, to control eating and therefore improve their physical appearance in order to feel better about themselves.
 * 13) Thus, they diet and have unrealistic expectations for the outcome, leading to further disappointment and more restrictions on their behavior.
 * 14) Many recent studies have provided evidence that disruptions in the formation and stability of one's self-esteem can lead to various psychological problems, such as eating disorders.
 * 15) Patients with eating disorders also exhibit other traits associated with low self-esteem, such as problems with their overall self-image, excessive concern over weight and shape, and globally negative attitudes about their self-control and discipline.