Anorexia in the 19th century

Even in the 19th century, psychiatrists saw patients with eating disorders. These images, published in Paris in 1892, depict a young woman with "visceral hysteric anorexia" who gradually gave up eating until she developed cachexia - a condition where the body is so malnourished it can't be reversed. Back then, anorexia was thought to be a teenage girl disease.

Today, researchers believe there is a strong correlation between the media's portrayal of women and teenage anorexia. But the symptoms of the disease remain relatively unchanged since the 19th century, when robust women were deemed attractive.

Credit: Dr. Stanley B. Burns