An overview of eating disorders

Abstract EN

The paper describes the nature and the evolution of the syndromes of eating disorders and the progress that has been made in understanding their causal determinants.

An emphasis has been placed on the socio-cultural theory of causation pointing to the recent epidemiological findings in this field.

There is also a reference to the surveys conducted in the Arab world, which indicate that eating disorders are starting to emerge in Arab societies possibly with similar rates to that reported in the West.