What kind of illness is anorexia nervosa?

With the best will in the world, it is difficult not to become disillusioned with the diagnostic system for eating disorders. Although repeatedly revised, diagnostic criteria such as those of DSM-IV or ICD10 are inadequate to describe the patient's condition. This essay critically appraises the historical development of eating disorders and challenges the widely held notion that bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa share a common psychopathology. It further argues that the time has arrived to think about anorexia nervosa and the eating disorders in a way different to the current stereotyping. It suggests that anorexia nervosa like neoplasia is a disease that requires staging and a model for such staging is presented.