Parents do not cause eating disorders.

That statement may seem obvious, but it is the sad history of eating disorder treatment that parents have often been blamed or felt blamed when a loved one develops an eating disorder. This crippling and discredited thinking was also once the case for other illnesses that we now understand are neither given nor chosen: asthma, stuttering, autism, schizophrenia.

For those families suffering from guilt, from feeling blamed, or unsure of who to believe on this topic:

• Top US Psychiatrist responds to question about eating disorders as a brain disorder, stigma associated with eating disorders, and families as "part of the solution."
• A short video of eating disorder experts, and the head of the US National Institute of Mental Health, answering the question Do Parents Cause Eating Disorders?" posed by F.E.A.S.T.'s director, Laura Collins.
• A statement by the Genetics of Anorexia Nervosa collaboration
• F.E.A.S.T. Position Statement "Parents Do Not Cause Eating Disorders"signed by eating disorder advisors and leaders around the world.

Parents do not cause eating disorders, but can be an important and active part of recovery:

• Read the "What Parents CAN do" page