Risk and protective factors for eating, weight, and body image problems
What about the influence of genes?*
- Like eye color and skin color, body size is strongly influenced by genetics*
- Eating and exercising the same amount would not make everyone the same size and shape!*
- Eating and exercise habits cannot be determined based on appearance*
- Family history of eating disorders increases the risk of eating disorders*
- There is increasing evidence over the past ten years that genetic factors play an important role in a wide variety of eating disturbances, overweight, and full-blown eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.
- Genetic risk does not imply genetic determination.
- Whether or not those with genetic risk for developing an eating disorder will actually develop an eating disorder depends on complex interactions between genes and environmental factors and between different genes.
- A recent study (Wade et al, 2009) showed that 37% of genetic risk factors are shared by two seemingly dissimilar disordered eating behaviors, intentional weight loss and overeating. While there is some genetic overlap between intentional weight loss and overeating behaviors, environmental risk factors for these two behaviors seem to be quite different and show little overlap. *From 2003-2005 National Eating Disorders Association, www.NationalEatingDisorders.org
Research efforts: In 1996, the Price Foundation, a private foundation, began to fund research into the genetics of anorexia and bulimia. During the next several years, an international group of scientists collected a large amount of data. In addition, the National Institutes of Health has been examining the heritability of anorexia in locations across the U.S. and in Europe. Dr. Walter Kaye, director of research at the Eating Disorders program at the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine, believes that 50 to 80 percent of anorexia and bulimia is determined by genetics. Genes involved in regulating neurotransmitters may influence genetic transmission. It is unclear if there are distinct genetic influences for each of the different types of eating disorders. (Kaye et al, 2005; Bulik, C.M., 2005).
