Pills or liquid, herbal or otherwise, laxative abuse is a common form of "weight control" in people suffering with Eating Disorders. The use of laxatives as a way to lose or control weight is not only dangerous, but irrational. The actual purpose of taking a laxative is to stimulate the large bowel to empty, which occurs only after the food and it's calories for energy have been absorbed through the small intestines. Essentially, a person taking laxatives to control weight is only going to cause their body to lose fluid, which can potentionally be followed by periods of water retention and an appearance of bloating (causing the sufferer to want to lose more weight and ingest more laxatives). The reason people suffering from eating disorders seem to lose weight while taking laxatives is because in most cases they are increasingly watching calorie intake and restricting food consumption, inducing vomiting, and/or compulsively exercising.