An investigation of weights in the parents of anorexia nervosa patients.

Although large series studies of anorexia nervosa families have found a greater than expected occurrence of anorexia nervosa in family members, there are no reports of the anorectic's parents' weights during the time of the patient's illness. An unusual degree of weight aberrations present in the parents at the time of the patient's illness could represent both a genetic and noxious environmental influence for the development of anorexia nervosa. In order to examine the possibility that weight aberrations may be more frequent in anorectic patients' parents, we obtained height and weight measurements from the parents of 30 anorexia nervosa patients. The parents were compared with 30 control families in which the father was matched for age, level of education, occupation, and salary to the patient's father. Matching the control group for socioeconomic status was necessary since previous studies have shown a relationship between socioeconomic status and weight. An analysis of covariance showed no difference between the weight of the patient and control parents, although a significant relationship between educational level and weight was present.