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PREFACE The writing of this report on eating disorders is a very personal journey for me. From the age of six until I finished high school at the age of seventeen I was a competitive gymnast who trained a minimum of three hours a day, six days a week. Because the sport of gymnastics is one where a competitor is given a score by the judges appearance plays an important part in the sport. The first time I ever experienced an issue concerning my weight was when my parents sent me to a sleepover summer training camp for gymnasts at the age of ten. I was by no means even slightly overweight but all of the girls at the camp were put on strict diets. I remember clearly how pleased I was when one day I looked down at myself and saw that my leotard was too big on me and baggy where my stomach should have been. Even at ten this gave me a feeling of control over my body. When my parents came to visit me one weekend they were horrified by my condition and took my home that same day. When they took me to the doctor it turned out that not only had I lost too much weight, but I was dehydrated as well. This was the last time my parents sent me to a summer camp for gymnastics. When I reached junior high school I became a cheerleader, which