I have so many patients who come to me absolutely certain that they have to be thin in order to be healthy.  Usually, these are women who have been dieting, hating their bodies, being obsessed with food, binge eating, compulsive overeating, or who identify as emotional eaters or individuals with food addiction.   They may be as young as 25 or as old as 70.  What they have in common is the desperate need to be thin.