No symptom-free subjects were found to have eating problems withing the family. All of the above information tells us that there is a correlation between family structure and the onset and continuation of eating disorders. The evidence is not empirical and cannot point to the family as the cause of eating disorders. Because it has been theorized that family structure is correlated with eating disorders, family systems therapies have sometimes been found to be beneficial in the treatment of eating disorders. Structural family therapy focuses on the current interaction within the family.
Structural therapy aims at discovering the hierarchical organization of the family.
A healthy family would have clear boundaries amongst family members. Therapy typically centers around the issue of control as it pertains to control of food intake. Strategic family therapy looks at the present but centers on having specific directives aimed at the patient. Transgenerational therapy deals with the past of anorectic families. It is believed that anorexia can develop out of beliefs that a family has held over generations.