The aetiology of anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an intriguing illness: the fact that it affects mainly attractive, intelligent young women, the wilful starvation, the near delusional insistence that they look just right, the intensive fear of becoming fat, the obsession with food and cooking, the perfectionist attitude, the secretiveness, and then the periodic gorging and vomiting. It has inspired a large number of publications recently, but there has been no consensus among the research workers on its aetiology. Currently, there are six main theories, organized along different conceptual levels, that attempt to explain this curious phenomenon. They are logically not mutually exclusive. While they overlap to some degree, their main thrust and conceptualization are distinct. This editorial will review the recent findings.