How the Incorrect Belief That Eating Disorders Are Predominantly Genetic Is Maintained

Abstract

The incorrect belief that anorexia nervosa is predominantly genetic is maintained in the psychiatric literature by a series of misquotations and misrepresentations of research data. An example of this type of scholarship is as an editorial in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Data from family and twin studies referenced in the editorial provide compelling evidence that the genetic contribution to the etiology of anorexia nervosa is small. The incorrect belief that anorexia nervosa is predominantly genetic is maintained, in addition, by statistical procedures such as heritability estimates. The incorrect belief that anorexia nervosa is predominantly genetic should not be endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association, in either its journals, in its published books, or in DSM–V.