Letters

New insights on eating disorders

In the April article, "New insights on eating disorders," we were dismayed by the article's statement: "Scientists are uncovering the faulty neurobiology behind anorexia and bulimia, debunking the myth that such eating disorders are solely driven by culture and environment." This statement implies eating disorder researchers have naively applied a myopic and simplistic sociocultural lens in their analyses. In fact, empirical research has repeatedly shown that eating disorder etiology is a complex interplay of biological, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual factors and that no one factor puts women and men at-risk.

We were equally surprised to see the statement, "Because anorexia is much less common in men, more research focuses on women," suggesting that there is little need to focus on gender differences because of lower prevalence rates of eating disorders among men and boys. Increasingly, empirical investigations underscore the importance of investigating men's experiences to better understand etiology. Eating disorder symptomatology can be just as serious, in some instances, for boys and men as they are for girls and women. Finally, while the article states there is much to uncover about "whether the neurobiological risk factors are similar across racial and ethnic groups" this can also be said of other indicia of diversity, such as age, immigration/acculturation status and sexual orientation. Our research has indicated that sexual orientation plays a prominent role influencing risk for eating disorder symptomatology. We believe there is considerable value in acknowledging a range of diversity issues in future neurobiological research on eating disorders.

Jennifer A. Boisvert, PhD
W. Andrew Harrell, PhD
Beverly Hills, California