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If you want to look at it from the medical perspective this is what Anorexia is:

Anorexia nervosa (anorexia) is an eating disorder with both physical and emotional traits. A person with anorexia severely limits food intake, has a distoted body image, refuses to maintain a normal body weight, is intensly afraid of gaining weight despite being underweight. Long-term or severe anorexia can lead to seriouse health probelms and even death.

According to the American Psychiatric Association these are the diagnostic criteria:

A. Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height (e.g., weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85% of that expected; or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth, leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected).

B. Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.

C. Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight.

D. In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles. (A woman is considered to have amenorrhea if her periods occur only following hormone, e.g., estrogen, administration.)

Then you have those people that view anorexia as a lifestyle and not a disease. These people say they have chosen to be anorexic on purpose and that they choose to starve themselves to attain their goals. They also say that anyone can choose to be anorexic if they have the willpower.

Could both be right?