Eating Disorders - Causes

At least one study has reported that the most positive way for parents to influence their children's eating habits and to prevent weight problems and eating disorders is to have healthy eating habits themselves.

Problems Surrounding Birth

In some studies people with anorexia have reported a higher than average incidence of problems during the mother's pregnancy or after birth. These problems include:

Infection
Physical trauma
Seizures
Low birth weight
Older maternal age

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Some experts believe that such patients experienced an injury to the brain while in the womb that predisposed them to eating problems in infancy and to subsequent eating disorders later in life. Studies have suggested that people with anorexia often had stomach and intestinal problems in infancy.

Genetic Factors

Anorexia is eight times more common in people who have relatives with the disorder, and some experts estimate that genetic factors are the root cause of many cases of eating disorders. For example, a 2000 study reported that twins had a tendency to share specific eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and obesity). Researchers have identified specific chromosomes that may be associated with bulimia and anorexia. In particular, regions on chromosome 10 have been linked to bulimia as well as obesity. Some evidence has also reported an association with genetic factors responsible for serotonin, the brain chemical involved with both well-being and appetite. Researchers have also pinpointed certain proteins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This protein may influence an individual?s susceptibility to developing an eating disorder.

In 2005, a team of researchers identified six core traits that they believe are linked to genes associated with bulimia and anorexia. These traits are:

Minimum body mass index (BMI)
Extreme concern over mistakes
Age when a girl first starts to menstruate
Food-related obsessions
?Obsessionality? (a form of perfectionism)
Anxiety

The researchers found that minimum BMI, concern over mistakes, age at first menstruation, and food-related obsessions were mostly associated with bulimia. Obsessionality and anxiety were mostly associated with anorexia. These differences indicate that different genes may be responsible for bulimia and anorexia.

Cultural Pressures

The approach to food in Western countries is extremely problematic. Enough food is produced in the US to supply 3,800 calories every day to each man, woman, and child, far more than any single person needs to sustain life. Obesity is a global epidemic, and few people living in this over-fed and sedentary culture eat a meal guiltlessly. One can nearly make the sweeping generalization that everyone who lives in a developed nation is at risk for either obesity or some eating disorder.