Risk of anorexia could be predicted
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'These findings could help us to understand a disease we don't know how to treat,' says Dr Framptom, who lead the research
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Thousands of girls could be more likely then others to develop anorexia because of the way their brain develops in the womb, according to new research.
What has the research found?
The study, carried out by Great Ormond Street Hospital, found that some people are born more vulnerable to anorexia because the wiring in their brain is different.
It's similar to the way that some people are more likely to develop ADHD, dyslexia or depression.
This means that girls could be screened by doctors when they are as young as 8 to see if they are at risk of developing the illness. Experts think that one in every few hundred girls could be at risk.
They say this problem with the wiring of the brain is random. It's not caused by the mother's diet while pregnant or any other factors.
Could this change the way that anorexia is treated?
Charities hope that drugs can be developed to treat anorexia in a similar way that anti-depressants treat depression.
What is anorexia and how serious is it?
Anorexia is an eating disorder that affects 4 in every 1,000 girls or women and 1 in every 2,000 boys or men. It's a psychological condition that makes you fear being overweight and become obsessed with dieting.
Those who suffer from it eat very little which causes serious weight problems. In some cases anorexia leads to death.
Are there other factors that cause anorexia?
For a long time social factors - like feeling pressure to lose weight after seeing pictures of skinny celebs and models - have been considered to be a cause of anorexia.
But some experts have argued that social factors can't be the only cause because everyone is exposed to pictures of skinny celebs.
Dr Frampton, who lead the research, said that social factors are still important but there are other factors, like genes, that make some people more vulnerable to the illness then others.
What do the experts say?
Susan Ringwood, chief executive of Beat, the eating disorder charity, said: 'This research could help parents understand that they aren't to blame.
'What we are learning is that some people are very vulnerable to anorexia and that is down to genetic factors and brain chemistry, not them trying to look like celebrities or models or suffering a major traumatic event early in their lives.'
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Where to next?
- Medical explanation of anorexia
- Medical explanation of bulimia
- 'We caught our daughter's eating disorder early'
- Give your child a good body image
By Katie McPhilimy
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