Eating disorders in ancient Arabian literature

The present paper traces the first descriptions of eating disorders back to the 11th century, Our aim is to contribute to a better understanding of eating disorders through a historical approach. We studied Ibnu-Sina's ''Canon de la medecine'' (1035) as well as other arabic medical works including Ibnu-Rochd's (12th century) medical treatises that comment Galien's manuscripts, Ibnu-Rochd's ''Colleget'' and Ibnu-Jazzar's medical treatise (10th century). We observed much agreement between Ibnu-Sina's descriptive patterns and the current classifications of eating disorders. It questions the importance of sociocultural factors in the development of these disorders.