ABSTRACT
The earliest probable description of anorexia nervosa in Western literature is that of Richard Morton in 1694. Modern thinking about the causation of anorexia nervosa looks at factors that predispose, precipitate, and perpetuate the disorder. Turning from biology to psychology, one of the most important contributions to modern conceptualization of anorexia nervosa is the work of Hilde Bruch. In the 1940s and 1950s, “anorexia nervosa was viewed as a form of conversion hysteria that symbolically expressed repudiation of sexuality, specifically of ‘oral impregnation fantasies’”. Empirical studies are only partially helpful in evaluating theories of psychological predisposing factors in the causation of anorexia nervosa because concepts such as maternal introject and self-object are difficult to quantify. In addition to the clinical importance of correctly diagnosing eating disorders in male patients, it is also useful to examine eating disorders in males to learn more about the etiology of eating disorders.
