Eating disorders 'may be genetic', says research

A recent study has found a fresh evidence of a genetic condition linked to eating disorders that is transferred from mothers to daughters.

The discovery explaining how adverse development can lead to mental health problems was disclosed by Professor Howard Steiger from McGill University, Montreal in epigenetics last week.

"The science of epigenetics is relatively new. Epigenetics helps explain how adverse development, stress, malnutrition and other influences can affect development of mental-health problems - including eating disorders," the Age quoted Professor Steiger as telling the National Eating Disorders Collaboration National Workshop.

According to Professor Steiger, epigenetics would play a major role in understanding the eating disorders.

"It's very significant. If eating disorders are about anything, they're about the ways in which environments switch on hereditary vulnerabilities," the Age quoted him as saying.

"It will give us a better understanding [about] how it is that some people develop an eating disorder. It's not due to moral weakness or character flaws, but real susceptibilities, for which we can find real physical evidence," he said.

With the identification of the genes Professor Steiger is hopeful of developing a test as well as medication.

The details of the findings of the study were presented at a conference in Adelaide last week.

-With inputs from ANI