DEAR ABBY: I am 13. I read your column every day. My mom is bulimic, and now I am fat because all she buys is junk food. Please give me some advice in the newspaper, because Mom will be mad if she knows I wrote to you.
I am sick of the kids at school calling me names all the time. I am sick of my mother calling me a fat pig when it is her fault that I eat the wrong food and don't throw up afterward like she does.
There is no reason to live any more. Every day of my life is miserable and I'd rather not even be here. You are my last chance for help on how to deal with these people. -- FED UP IN FORT MYERS, FLA.
DEAR FED UP: You need more help than anyone can give you in a letter. It's time to talk to your teacher, your principal or a school nurse about what you have written me. Your mother has an eating disorder and may not even realize that she is passing it along to you.
You need a healthy diet and an exercise program, and your mother needs to understand that what's going on could be classified as neglect because children's eating habits are dictated by their parents. Don't wait -- talk to someone now. Please let me hear from you again. I care.