If you feel intense fear at the thought of being overweight, your reaction to the fear may send you in the opposite direction. This is true with any fear--not just eating. We tend to react strongly to our greatest fears.
Fearing weight gain or being overweight may make you want to lose weight instead. Dieting often comes before an eating disorder. Being very afraid of gaining weight can cause you to desire being underweight to be as far away from being overweight as possible. Or, it may make the idea of purging after a meal or snack seem reasonable.
