ABSTRACT
After reading this chapter, the reader should be able to do the following:
Discuss eating disorders as viewed and identified throughout history and through various cultural lenses
Identify and discuss historical challenges to reaching consensus among professionals about (1) the definition of eating disorders, (2) etiology, and (3) appropriate treatment
Synthesize a working definition of eating disorders based on current biochemical, neurodevelopmental, and psychological research
4Describe genetic, epigenetic, and biochemical advances in the understanding of eating disorders and summarize how genetic and epigenetic contributions to eating disorder etiology are related to environmental and psychological theories of eating disorders
