Warning: this seminar will contain discussions of eating disorders.

Eating disorders are commonly regarded as a ‘modern’ and ‘slimmers’ disease’. This is a misperception. Case reports are reported from19th century Europe. The first mention of the condition was made in a lecture by physician Dr. William Gull in Oxford in 1868. In Japan, the Kyoto physician Dr. Shutoku Kagawa wrote about non-eating illness in 1788. What do these classic cases tell us about the interaction between the biological and societal factors of this illness?

Dr. Nishizono-Maher specializes in eating disorders and post-natal mental health. She studied in the Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh, worked at Keio University Hospital, Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry, was visiting researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London and is currently Professor in the Faculty of Psychology, Meiji Gakuin University. She works at hospitals and public health centre. She is the author of several books on eating disorders.