The sexual competition hypothesis for eating disorders

Abstract

A hypothesis is presented for eating disorders that contends that these syndromes together with the phenomenon of the pursuit of thinness are manifestations of female intra-sexual competition. It is argued that the present-day environment of Western coutries presnts a range of conditions that have led to the overactivation or disruption of the archaic female sexual strategy of maximising 'mate value'. The hypothesis deals with the ultimate level of causation and is therefore compatible with a range of theories dealing with the proximate level of causation.