Premium
A theory of activity‐based anorexia
Author(s) -
Epling W. Frank,
Pierce W. David,
Stefan Larry
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(198323)3:1<27::aid-eat2260030104>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - anorexia , anorexia nervosa , starvation , psychology , food intake , developmental psychology , feeding behavior , physical activity , sociocultural evolution , appetite , set (abstract data type) , locomotor activity , ingestion , eating disorders , food consumption , biology , endocrinology , clinical psychology , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , sociology , agricultural economics , anthropology , computer science , economics , programming language
The present paper documents the etiological importance of physical activity to self‐starvation in animals and suggests similarities between this research area and the literature concerned with some self‐starvation in humans. An activity anorexia is proposed that may account for 38% to 75% of anorexia nervosa. An account of excessive locomotor activity is made in terms of schedule‐induced behavior. A reciprocally interactive effect of activity and food ingestion is taken to explain self‐starvation for animals and activity anorexia in humans. Literature is reviewed which demonstrates that rats and mice self‐starve when they are given access to a running wheel and placed on food restriction. In this paradigm, these animals become excessively active and paradoxically reduce food consumption when compared with control subjects. This evidence and related findings are shown to be consistent with a phylogenetically based model of anorexia. Sociocultural factors are hypothesized to set and maintain the conditions that produce activity anorexia in humans.