674 SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS IN ANOREXIA NERVOSA
SIR,-Anorexia nervosa has a marked preponderance for adolescent females of higher social class,’2 and its incidence seems to be increasing.3 4 It has been suggested that excessive dieting and mild forms of anorexia nervosa are very common in adolescent girls:5the "thin fat" syndrome has been used to describe such individuals with the psychological characteristics of anorexia nervosa but with only slight weight loss.89 The age, sex, and social-class distribution of anorexia nervosa and its increased frequency may be linked to sociocultural pressures on women to be slim and successful. 10 12 However, there is little evidence to suggest that cultural factors are directly related to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa. To see if cultural influences might play a role in the development of anorexia nervosa we examined a group of professional
represented
in the
population
of dance students. These data
hypothesis that individuals who focus increased on body size are at risk of anorexia nervosa and emphasis related dieting problems and that cultural variables may play a significant role in interacting with psychobiological forces in the development of anorexia nervosa in vulnerable adolescents. These finding are also compatible with the possibility that anorexic individuals may selectively enter dance schools or that high-performance expectations per se rather than an augmented focus on body size may facilitate the development of the syndrome. A more complete evaluation of this hypothesis is in progress, making use of larger sample sizes and a variety of professional groups who may be at varying risk for eating support the
disturbances. Clarke Institute of
Psychiatry
and
University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 1R8, Canada
DAVID M. GARNER PAUL E. GARFINKEL
E.A.T. SCORES AND PREVALENCE OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA
VIRULENCE OF MENINGOCOCCI
by a score of 32 or greater on the eating attitudes test. 13 tSignificantly different from normal control group, =9-13, P
SIR,-Anorexia nervosa has a marked preponderance for adolescent females of higher social class,’2 and its incidence seems to be increasing.3 4 It has been suggested that excessive dieting and mild forms of anorexia nervosa are very common in adolescent girls:5the "thin fat" syndrome has been used to describe such individuals with the psychological characteristics of anorexia nervosa but with only slight weight loss.89 The age, sex, and social-class distribution of anorexia nervosa and its increased frequency may be linked to sociocultural pressures on women to be slim and successful. 10 12 However, there is little evidence to suggest that cultural factors are directly related to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa. To see if cultural influences might play a role in the development of anorexia nervosa we examined a group of professional
represented
in the
population
of dance students. These data
hypothesis that individuals who focus increased on body size are at risk of anorexia nervosa and emphasis related dieting problems and that cultural variables may play a significant role in interacting with psychobiological forces in the development of anorexia nervosa in vulnerable adolescents. These finding are also compatible with the possibility that anorexic individuals may selectively enter dance schools or that high-performance expectations per se rather than an augmented focus on body size may facilitate the development of the syndrome. A more complete evaluation of this hypothesis is in progress, making use of larger sample sizes and a variety of professional groups who may be at varying risk for eating support the
disturbances. Clarke Institute of
Psychiatry
and
University of Toronto, Toronto M5T 1R8, Canada
DAVID M. GARNER PAUL E. GARFINKEL
E.A.T. SCORES AND PREVALENCE OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA
VIRULENCE OF MENINGOCOCCI
by a score of 32 or greater on the eating attitudes test. 13 tSignificantly different from normal control group, =9-13, P
