Eating Disorders throughout the Ages.

People from different nations around the world through out the years have practiced strange eating habits. For example, the Egyptians believed and engaged in monthly purges in attempts to remain healthy. The Romans created a placed called a "vomitorium" were men would empty their stomachs so they could continue to eat, basically stuffing themselves. During ancient Greek and Roman times, Bulimia which was the term for "ox hunger" was widely practiced among people. As early as the 18th century, "La Boulimie" was used in French literature to describe this pattern of overeating. In 1649, an English physician named Richard Morton gave the first description of a patient with Anorexia Nervosa. He referred to the illness as a "nervous consumption".

For centuries, self-starvation among women has been the subject of great discussion and debate. In the early 1870's, Anorexia was again described by a British physician named Sir William Gull. Prior, self starvation was thought to be linked to other diseases such as Diabetes or Tuberculosis however Sir William Gull was the first to describe the illness as a separate disease and is responsible for giving the disease its name. The name which means "nervous loss of appetite." but  patients usually do not loose their appetite until the late stages of the disease. The German term, Pubertatsmagersucht which means "mania for leanness" is a better description of Anorexia Nervosa. Sir William Gull believed Anorexia came from a "sick mind" yet many of anorexics were wealthy so he rarely sent them to a  mental institution.

During the middle ages, a main issue about self starvation was whether it was the work of the devil or God. Despite the odd eating patterns and behaviors of the Egyptians and Romans, actual eating disorders did not surface until the middle ages. In the 19th century France and England, painted artwork depict that a large woman was seen as an object of beauty. From the late 19th century doctors attempted to describe exactly what Anorexia was and started to exclude organic causes and to identify it as a psychological illness.

Prior to the 1970's little was known about Bulimia, even among psychiatrists. A pattern of bingeing and purging was first linked to the advanced stages or a "side affect"  of Anorexia. In the mid 1970's Bulimia was categorized and seen as a distinct illness. In 1979, an English psychiatrist from London, Dr. Gerald Russell was the first to name the disorder Bulimia Nervosa. He described Bulimia in a patient by noting "the patient suffers from powerful and intractable urges to overeat; the patient seeks to avoid the 'fattening' effects of food by inducing vomiting or abusing purgatives or both; the patient has a morbid fear of becoming obese."

It was also during the 1970's that Anorexia Nervosa became more widely known. In past decades, physicians were educated about eating disorders in medical school yet they rarely seen a case in their practices. Public awareness was not as present however this would soon change as the next decade approached.

In the early 1980's, public awareness about Anorexia reached great heights when popular singer Karen Carpenter's death due to Anorexia was highly publicized. Karen Carpenter died February 4, 1983, age 32 of heart failure caused by chronic anorexia nervosa. She battled with it from 1975-1983 (when she died). She went to New York at the end of 1981 for a year of treatment by a psychiatrist but the damage had apparently been done.  She remained obsessed or trapped by it. She was an extreme case and she fought to over come the disease throughout the last two years of her life but she couldn't or she just simply ran out of time.  She'd been starving herself for seven years, using laxatives, drinking water with lemon, taking dozens of thyroid pills daily, and even throwing up. Her death certainly brought eating disorders to America’s attention. Education of Eating Disorders has been taken serious since Karen's death. It has in turn saved many lives. There are now numerous resources on the web, in libraries, bookstores, organizations and in the form of support groups. Other celebrities and models through out the years have come forward with their own struggles of an eating disorder.

Today the number of eating disorder cases continue to grow. During the 1990's well known celebrity Richard Simmons came forward with a book about his struggles with an eating disorder. With the presence of the Internet, there are currently 850 websites on the topic of eating disorders and this number is growing. There is a need for education and public awareness. There are organizations all over the world dedicated in the prevention, education and raising awareness about the epidemic of eating disorders. The mysteries of eating disorders such as their causes, are still today trying to be unraveled by researchers and professionals alike. New theories are being brought forward such as Peggy Claude Pierre's "Confirmed Negativity Condition" ( C.N.C.)  C.N.C. is a state of mind where the sufferer has feelings of self-loathing and worthlessness and can lead to someone punishing themselves  for a great many things. Peggy Claude-Pierre feels that someone with C.N.C. does not necessarily have to have an eating disorder, and vice-versa. C.N.C. does not cause an eating disorder by itself, meaning it is a symptom of the underlying causes in that particular person. Peggy's theory in her studies have granted her much success in treating and even curing victims of eating disorders. 

New studies about eating disorders, their causes and new ways and improved ways to treat patients are always being done. It is a struggle that is far from over and it is hoped that one day eating disorders will only be a thing of the past.