A study of 200 people—mostly females aged twelve to
twenty-five—has radically changed the way doctors think about anorexia. While
previous research on the disease has stressed cultural and familial causes of
the disease, researchers have now determined that anorexia may be closely
related to brain chemistry:
“They found that about 70% of the patients had suffered
damage to their neurotransmitters, which help brain cells communicate with each
other, had undergone subtle changes in the structure of their brains, or both.”
This finding helps to clarify a long confusion about the
risk factors involved in developing anorexia, since all women are exposed to pop culture’s thin obsession, but only
about four women in every thousand develop anorexia.
Researchers hope that it may be possible to treat the
disease with drugs that work like antidepressants by altering brain chemistry—and
to offer parents some peace of mind that their children’s eating disorders are
not their fault. According to Susan Ringwood, who runs a leading charity for
people suffering from eating disorders, “Parents always blame themselves when
their child develops an eating disorder. But what we are learning more and more
from research in this area is that some people are very vulnerable to anorexia
and that is down to genetic factors and brain chemistry, and not them trying to
look like celebrity models or suffering a major traumatic event early in their
lives.”
Jezebel writer Hortense
is certainly not the only anorexia sufferer who welcomes the news that
anorexia can affect anyone, and does not necessarily say anything about one’s
childhood or obsession with appearance.
Nevertheless, just as people who are prone to depression are
more likely to actually become depressed when certain stress factors are present
in their lives, parents and society still have a responsibility to encourage
all children to have positive relationships with their bodies—a responsibility
that society clearly continues to shirk.
Eventually, it may be possible to test children as young as
eight to determine whether they have the anorexia-prone brain abnormality. Would
you get your kids screened?
Photo: Jezebel
