Anorexia Nervosa to Clinical Legitimacy

Dr. David M. Garner draws upon extensive experience as a certified life coach and a PhD in clinical psychology as board president of a Toledo, Ohio-area not-for-profit eating disorder information and research entity called the River Centre Foundation. Dr. David M Garner has also authored a range of widely cited academic articles, the majority of which have involved investigations into anorexia nervosa.

An eating disorder that often leads to dangerous low body weight, anorexia nervosa generally involves highly exaggerated fears of gaining weight and distorted body perceptions in patients. Although some experts trace the roots of anorexia nervosa to ancient or medieval times, the first widely recognized and detailed account of the disorder occurred in 1689. Treating both a boy and a girl who were wasting away while professing a loss of appetite, English physician Richard Morton declared “this consumption to be nervous.”

Another English physician, William Gull, coined the term “anorexia nervosa” in various 1873 case reports. That same year, French physician Ernest Charles Lasegue released descriptions of patients with “anorexie hysterique.” However, anorexia nervosa didn’t find widespread understanding until the mid-1900s, thanks to the prolific publications of American doctor Hilde Bruch.