BBC Documentary on Anorexia & Bulimia NARRATOR (JACK FORTUNE) In 1945 a bizarre experiment was carried out. 36 men were starved for 6 months to see what would happen. Their brains and their hearts began to shrink, their reflexes were reduced and their body tissue decreased by 40%. But perhaps the most interesting effects were on their minds. The men began to behave like people suffering from eating disorders. The starvation study helped to explain the distorted world of anorexics and bulimics.