Genes that influence eating disorders!

According to information from the Ellen West Foundation , anorexia and bulimia nervosa are mental illnesses related to diet, weight and body image, but what are the causes of eating disorders?

These eating disorders have different causes such as: psychological and sociocultural, influenced by factors such as low self-esteem, perfectionism, lack of control over impulses; However, genetics has a great weight in them.

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Several studies suggest that genetics increases the probability that a person will develop problems in their eating behavior, that is, the relatives of someone who has had this problem have a higher risk of developing it.

 

Genes that influence eating disorders!

Researchers of the University of Iowa and Southwestern Medical Center at the University of Texas They identified some mutations that trigger eating disorders.

 

  1. ESRRA It is a transcription factor that activates the expression of other genes, but with the mutation this characteristic is reduced, which is linked to an increased risk of eating disorders.
  2. HDAC4. This receiver called deacetylase 4 inhibits the activity of genes such as ESRRA , that is, it increases the ability to repress the protein that prevents the development of these problems. In addition, it is important to regulate the genes that form the connections between neurons.
  3. Serotonin transmitter gene. A study of National Institute of Psychiatry (INP) Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz He details that people who have a variation of the gene influences their mood and increases the risk of suffering from an eating disorder.
  4. Deactivation of the insula . Researchers of the food disorders unit of the British hospital Great Ormond Street explain that people with anorexia have deactivated the insula, a tiny part of the brain.

Most of these genes are related to metabolic pathways through muscle and fat tissue, so they are regulated by exercise.

 

What is an ACT?

In an interview for GetQoralHealth, Araceli Aizpuro, director of the Ellen West Foundation , explains what is a disorder of eating behavior, its causes and treatment.

Several scientists detail that some chemical substances that are in the brain that control hunger, appetite and digestion register an imbalance in people with eating disorders. And you, has anyone in your family had an eating disorder?


Video Medicine: Eating disorder signs and symptoms (March 2024).