Community recognition and beliefs about anorexia nervosa and its treatment.

Objective: Mental Health Literacy (MHL), namely recognition, and beliefs about treatment concerning Anorexia Nervosa (AN) were examined in a community sample of male and female (n = 983) aged 15-94 years.

Method: A vignette describing a women suffering from the symptoms of AN was presented, followed by a respondent-based structured interview concerning recognition of the problem and treatment beliefs.

Results: The majority of participants could identify the problem as that of an eating disorder, although only 16.