DR. WALLACE: I know all about anorexia nervosa and how serious it is, so I'm not inquiring about what it looks like or how to spot it. Instead, my question is: Why do some teens, especially girls, become victims of this terrible affliction?

I know most teens try to keep their weight down, but it's so sad when things spiral out of control for some people. — Feel Sad for Them, via email

FEEL SAD FOR THEM: Sadly, roughly one in every 200 teenagers suffers from an eating disorder of some kind, and a very high percentage of them are female.

All types of teens are vulnerable to this awful affliction, no matter what their body style or social standing may be. One of the main factors that often triggers anorexia is parental pressure.

At times, certain parents who are particularly controlling, overprotective or have unrealistically high expectations unwittingly drive their children into an eating disorder. In almost all cases, victims of anorexia nervosa cannot overcome it alone.

This is why professional help is usually urgently needed to turn around this condition as quickly as possible before irreparable damage is done.

I DISAGREE WITH MY GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S RECOMMENDATION

DR. WALLACE: I'm planning my course schedule for my senior year in high school right now, even though it is the summer between my junior and senior years.

I had a guidance counselor give me some recommended classes, but one of them I have no interest in. This counselor really pushed me hard at the end of the year and even spoke to my mother about trying to talk me into this particular foreign language class.

I really don't want to take this class even though my counselor and my mother are both pushing me very hard to sign up for it once school resumes this fall.

What do you think? Must I follow my guidance counselor's recommendation for my curriculum? — Not Happy Being Pressured Like This, via email

NOT HAPPY BEING PRESSURED LIKE THIS: A counselor is only a guide to a student and his or her family. The ultimate decision lies in the hands of the student, not the counselor.

You can consider yourself aware of the suggestion, and still make a different decision without any repercussions from your school or the counselor who made the suggestion in the first place.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Jennifer Burk at Unsplash