An expert in psychiatric genetics as turned her attention upon the problem of binge eating with a new book titled Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop. The book was written by Cynthia Bulik, Ph.D, who serves as the director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program.

In a May 15 entry on the website of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, writer Mark Jacob noted Bulik's interest in the genetic component of eating disorders. "Bulik ... defines binge eating as consuming a volume of food that others would consider unusually excessive and feeling out of control while doing so," Jacob wrote. "She said research shows that eating disorders have a strong genetic component (47 percent in one landmark Norwegian study) and often are induced by extreme dieting."

Experts estimate that about 3.5 percent of women and two percent of men will be affected by binge eating disorder at least once in their lives.

The Crave website notes that "genetic predisposition, brain chemistry, psychology, and cultural pressures increase a person's susceptibility to binge eating disorder, but bingeing is not inevitable."

Labels: binge eating, genes

Posted By: Aspen/CRC