Researchers have carried out the study and found that most sufferers are predisposed to the eating disorder because of the way their brains developed in the womb, a finding they claim could revolutionise treatment of the eating disorder.

"Our research shows that certain kids' brains develop in such a way that makes them more vulnerable to commonly known risk factors for eating disorders – such as the size zero debate, media representations of very skinny women and bad parents," lead researcher Dr Ian Frampton said.

For their study, the researchers at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital tested more than 200 anorexia sufferers from Britain, the US and Norway. All were females aged between 12 and 25 and were being treated in private hospitals.

The researchers found around 70 per cent had suffered damage to neurotransmitters, that help brain cells communicate or had undergone other subtle changes in the structure of their brains, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

One in every few hundred girls may be affected in this way, according to Dr Frampton. He said the condition is caused by random conditions, not poor maternal diet or environmental. The "imperfect wiring" of the brain is similar to that seen in people with dyslexia, depression or hyperactivity.

"These findings could help us to understand a disease we don't know how to treat. Arguments that social factors, such as girls feeling under pressure to lose weight to look like high-profile women in the media, contain logical flaws because almost everyone is exposed to them yet only a small percentage of young people get anorexia.