Scott Alexander explores anorexia's biological aspects beyond cultural factors, presenting and analyzing del Giudice's 'self-starvation cycle' theory as a more comprehensive explanation of the disorder. Longer summary

Scott Alexander discusses anorexia, acknowledging its cultural component but emphasizing the biological aspects that persist even when cultural factors are no longer relevant. He presents del Giudice's 'self-starvation cycle' theory from 'Evolutionary Psychopathology', which suggests that initial food restriction, whether voluntary or involuntary, can trigger a biological response in predisposed individuals leading to ongoing anorexia. The post critiques purely cultural explanations of anorexia and highlights the limitations of current therapeutic approaches that focus solely on body image issues. Scott notes some weaknesses in the theory, particularly in explaining why not all starvation leads to anorexia, but overall finds it a useful model for understanding aspects of the disorder often overlooked by other explanations. Shorter summary