Female eating disorder. Female eating disorder Young woman craves a cream cake late at night She is alone and overeating when no one can detect her The cause may be bulimia, an illness in young women characterized by overeating in private, usually followed by self-induced vomiting or using laxative drugs The sufferer has a morbid fear of becoming fat, yet cannot stop herself eating Often the patient has had anorexia nervosa, becoming thin through dieting and then developing a craving for fo