DR. WALLACE: You said that 90 percent of all anorexia nervosa (self-starvation) sufferers are female. That leaves one out of every 10 victims of this eating disorder a male. My friends and I are aware of several girls who are anorexic, but none has ever heard of a guy who was anorexic. Is it possible for an anorexic to overcome this disorder without professional help? — Nameless, St. Charles, La.

NAMELESS: If you are questioning the 10 percent statistic, don't. As a high school principal and a consultant working with teens in a psychiatric hospital, I've observed several young men who were suffering from this potentially fatal eating disorder. Parental pressure to succeed is one of the prime forces that causes a male to become anorexic. Please read the following letter. Sadly, it shows how extremely difficult it is for a victim to overcome this devastating eating disorder.

PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT IS NEEDED

DR. WALLACE: I'm writing in response to the mother who suspected that her daughter might be anorexic. Like you, I also want to encourage her to get professional treatment for her daughter. I attended a high school of over 1,000 students. One of the students was a pretty, outgoing, intelligent girl. She was a cheerleader and everyone liked her.

One day it was announced that the school was holding a fund-raiser to help her parents pay for treatment because she had been diagnosed as anorexic. She was 17 when she entered treatment. Recently, I read in the newspaper that she had died. She was 21, and she weighed only 80 pounds!

I sincerely hope that this mother who wrote to you will get help for her daughter immediately! Anorexia can and often is fatal. Anorexics honestly believe they are fat, even when undernourished and razor thin. — Nameless, Toledo, Ohio.

NAMELESS: The story of your former classmate is tragic, but all too common. Anorexia Nervosa is an extremely serious eating disorder. Parents should seek out professional treatment at the very first sign that a child (usually a teenage female) might be involved in self-starvation. Rarely can a person overcome this condition on her own. Anorexia is not a "phase" that a young person goes through and it will not be eliminated by time alone.

I THINK IT'S A DUMB IDEA

DR. WALLACE: I like Mario and so does another girl. He hasn't said who he likes better. Yesterday, this girl called me and asked if I still liked Mario. I told her yes. She then suggested that she and I have a fight, with the winner getting him.

I told her I'd think about it, but now that I have, I think it's a dumb idea. I honestly think I could whip this girl's tail, but Mario isn't worth the effort. I'm going to tell her he is all hers, but I don't want her to think I was afraid to fight her, because I'm not. Should I whip her tail just to prove the point? — Nameless, Brownsville, Tex.

NAMELESS: You're right that fighting over a boy is a dumb idea. But it doesn't mean that the "other girl" should wind up with him just because she challenged you to a fight.

Contact Mario and explain what happened and ask him to make his choice. If you are the "winner," do everything possible to avoid a physical altercation with this girl, but if it can't be avoided, defend yourself.

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 [email protected]. 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.