Anorexia shrinks brain more than other issues

Anorexia shrinks the brain more than any other mental health conditions, a major study has shown.

Neuroscientists at the University of Bath said the findings were a “wake up call”. Researchers looked at the brain scans of 2,000 people with anorexia and found reductions in volume from one to five per cent. There were “sizeable reductions” in cortical thickness, subcortical volumes and cortical surface area. They believe the changes might be due to reduced Body Mass Index, rather than neural shrinkage, while those recovering from anorexia showed 30 to 50 per cent less shrinkage, suggesting the brain can repair itself.