In The Fat Girl by André Dubus, Louise is a young teenager with detrimental eating habits and broken self-esteem. Her lack of self-confidence comes from her atrocious emotional habitat. Louise constantly receives criticism from her mother regarding her weight. Her mother says: “If you're fat, boys won't like you. » This kind of ridicule uttered by a mother towards her 9 year old daughter creates an atmosphere of hatred and self-loathing. It's not just her home environment that contributes greatly to Louise's destructive behavior. She has few friends and the ones she does have agree that she needs to change. The society she lives in is also a contributing factor; society is loaded with stigmas positioned on appearance. This daily teasing only makes Louise more introverted, causing her secret eating binge to deteriorate. In the research led by Ursula Polli-Potts PhD, Links Between Psychological Symptoms and Disordered Eating Behaviors in Obese Youth, she explains the correlation between psychological, emotional factors and eating disorders in overweight adolescents. Potts says: “The association between binge eating symptoms and eating in response to feelings of distress and sadness with depression/anxiety symptoms is consistent with findings from other studies. » Potts and his colleagues took overweight adolescents and placed them in control and variable groups to ensure the accuracy of the data. The result of their research was that there is a direct correlation between emotional binge eating and psychological factors. Although more research needs to be implemented, Potts and his associates were pleased with the results of the case studies. Louise exhibits the classic signs of an emotional frenzy. She is middle of paper......o embraces differences and exudes acceptance, love and encouragement. Every girl and boy deserves the right to look in the mirror and like what they see. They deserve the right to not feel the need to overeat, purge, or starve in an effort to meet the impossible standards imposed by an imperfect society. Works Cited “Emotions and Eating Behavior: Implications for the Current Obesity Epidemic.” University of Toronto Quarterly Spring 79.2 (2010): 783-99. Internet. April 2014. O'Dea, Jennifer A. "Evidence for a Self-Esteem Approach to Preventing Body Image and Eating Problems in Children and Adolescents." » Eating Disorders 12.3 (2004): 225-39. Internet. April 2014.Polli-Potts, Ursula. “Links between psychological symptoms and disordered eating behaviors in obese youth.” International Journal of Eating Disorders 46.2 (2013): 156-63. Internet. Apr. 2014.