There is the idea of a "lipostat" which is the mechanism of the body to regulate it's weight. In a person with obesity or anorexia, the lipostat would be off, s

There is the idea of a "lipostat" which is the mechanism of the body to regulate it's weight. In a person with obesity or anorexia, the lipostat would be off, so the body would be trying to maintain a higher or lower than regular weight. (I think I read about it first on the slimemoldtimemold blog). The interesing thing is, in case of underweight, the lipostat might not just cause reduced hunger and increased body temperature for example. It might also affect self-image and cause you to feel you are too fat. This is still speculation of course, and I can imagine that it makes people uncomfortable, since we like to believe our self is in control of our body and not the other way around. But it is entirely possible that "socially transmissible" or seemingly "cultural" disorders are intertwined in a complex way. (What if you need certain widespread contaminants, or microbiome deficiencies, plus trauma experience or unhealty body images in media to cause anorexia.)