Women with a distorted body image may practice unhealthy behaviors. Some women, particularly those driven to succeed (by themselves and others), think that the only place they have complete control in their lives is over their own bodies. In their attempt to control their body size and shape, they manipulate their diet and exercise patterns to manipulate body size and shape. Unfortunately, these behaviors can get out of control and move into the category of self-mutilation rather than simple weight management. The unhealthy behaviors can lead to more than weight loss; they can lead to extreme physiological malfunctioning.

Perhaps you've heard of the female athlete triad? You may have also heard this called simply the female triad, because athletes aren't the only women affected.