The reasons for this practice are often based more on social pressures than on health or performance.
Sports with weight classifications, such as wrestling.
Learned responses and habits, especially to stress
Cultural and social pressures, for example to be slim
Psychological factors, such as perfectionism and lack self-esteem, although it's not known whether this is a cause or effect of disorders ...
"Adverse Effects of Social Pressure to Be Thin on Young Women: An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of 'Fat Talk.'" International Journal of Eating Disorders 34:108–117.
Compared to white women, black women experienced less social pressure about their weight, initiated dieting later in life, and were significantly less likely to diet at each developmental milestone.
Thus, children may have an innate dietary wisdom that can be obscured by social pressure and expectations. The originators of intuitive eating believe that adults can recover this wisdom that first gets lost in childhood.
 See also: Health, Eating, Diet, Fat, Weight loss
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