Does anorexia nervosa exist in cultures where the pressure to be thin is less pervasive than in the West? A study of 668 students in two schools in Ghana identified 10 women with a body mass index (kg/m²) < 17.5 in whom “self starvation” seemed to be the only cause for their low weight. Although these students did not seem to have the typical Western anorexic concerns about weight or shape, they did hold beliefs about self control and hunger denial, and they all viewed their food restriction positively and in religious terms (British Journal of Psychiatry 2004;185: 312-7).

Toast lovers in Norfolk will be relieved to hear that toast is once more on the menu at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. It was removed in 2000 when a “risk assessment” deemed that the smoke detectors and sprinklers used in the hospital were too sensitive to cope with burnt toast. Installation of a more sophisticated alarm system has delighted patients and staff alike (Health Service Journal, 23 September 2004: 9).

In Britain the legal responsibility …