Scientists act to find biological anorexia link

Scientists are beginning to investigate potential links between anorexia and genetics, in the hope it could be used to aid treatment.
Anorexia nervosa (to give it its full name) is one of the most well known eating disorders, but that doesn’t mean it is understood by a lot of people.
Eating disorders are usually related to mental health, and anorexia is a result of hyper focusing on body image and trying to lose weight through diet. It is characterised by a person reducing the amount of food they eat and self-imposed starvation.
Recently, it has become clearer that mental health disorders can be linked to biology. There is evidence suggesting that depression risk is linked to higher activity in certain areas of the brain, for example.
Now scientists are looking into the genes of anorexic sufferers in the hope that they can uncover a link that makes them more at risk of developing the condition.
This could be used to treat and to predict who is at risk, and use this information to prevent people from developing the eating disorder.
Researchers at King’s College London are taking DNA samples from people with, or who have recovered from, the disease.
25,000 samples are needed from across the globe, as this high number is what will give the study the edge to give it concrete, scientific reliability in order to help people return to a healthy, balanced diet.