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As our attention turns back to pre-pandemic life, we can return to the ongoing unchanging research efforts into the causes of eating disorders. One recent study reported by Drs. Christopher Hὓbel and Nadia Micali and their colleagues found strong genetic similarities between persons with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. However, the genetics of body weight regulation are opposite between AN and BN on one side and BN and BED on the other.
Another large study in Sweden examined the genetic and environmental factors underlying crossover between BN and AN. The researchers report that that genetic and environmental effects are both relevant, and that they overlap in those with AN and BN. Research also continues into the effects of COVID-19 on patients with eating disorders. Not surprisingly, a study in Great Britain found that social distancing had the most decisive influence on the study participants’ well-being. This was especially true for ED patients living alone. Being alone while struggling with an eating disorder was linked to an even greater tendency to become more focused on food and disordered eating.
– MKS