There are strong moral overtones associated with eating behaviour and with this goes the contemporary assumption that anyone can choose their shape and weight if only they try hard enough. Arguably, it is this false gospel that has led to the recent increase in bulimia nervosa (BN). Women struggling to attain an idealized shape have drastically to subvert their bodies' homeostatic mechanisms: the battle is rarely won and eventually, the victim turns for help to escape the scars and trauma. On the other hand, the shimmering vision of anorexia nervosa (AN) appears to support the myth.