Relatives with EDs/EDs running in the family

I am hearing more and more about how there is a strong genetic component to eating disorders. I am reading Aimee Liu's book "Gaining" and apparently they really do tend to run in families. On my mom's side 3 of her 5 sisters have had anorexia and one has bulimia. Two of them have osteoporosis; in fact, one of my aunts had to have a hip replacement because she fell and pretty much shattered her hip. My uncle on my dad's side is also bulimic. My mom has also struggled a lot with an ED/disordered eating. She lost a whole lot of weight (became underweight) when I was at my worst and she still doesn't eat properly. She told me once that she felt like her looks and abilities were plain and ordinary and she thought losing weight would make her stand out.

I thought it would be interesting to take a sort of poll and see how many of those with ED's have also had them in their families. I'm sure it varies a lot, but it seems there is a connection. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I do not have any other members of my family suffering with an ED that I am aware of. But my family have disordered patterns, certainly - just not any EDs.

allnaturalgirl02-    I, too, believe that eating disorders may run in families - but because of the exposure to and knowledge of them. It's seems unlikely to me that anyone could be genetically predisposed to want to starve or purge herself. According to the theory of natural selection, any genetic mutations that could be fatal or detrimental to one's reproduction (as I assume amenorrhea would) should have been "weeded out" of the population.

I'm not an expert, but it seems more likely that whatever environmental factors that contribute to one's development of an ED would be the same or similar to siblings' or relatives', thereby increasing the likelihood that another family member would develop the same type of problem.

Now, I am going to contadict myself: I am a twin and we have both suffered from eating disorders. I was anorexic for years and when I began to recover, my twin sister became bulimic - or it just got worse then, I'm not sure. (What's funny is that everyone thinks that one of us has always been the "skinny one" and the other was always the "fat one" though we actually, in a way, switched) You would think that my case would support the genetic predisposition theory, but anorexia and bulimia are different EDs. Both involve the fear of weight gain, yes, but in different ways. Anorexia is more preventative and bulimia is more compensatory. They involve slightly different mindsets, I believe.

So, to answer your question, yes. I do believe there is a greater likelihood of someone developing an ED if a relative suffers with one. However, I find it hard to believe most theories involving genes having more control over individuals' behavior than environmental factors. Nurture over nature, basically. What do you think about this possibility?

Neslis, that's an interesting theory. What I am reading in "Gaining" is that a certain type of personality may run in families (like those who suffer from anxiety and depression) and that personality type may be more susceptible to getting an ED, whether it is anorexia and bulimia. I don't think compulsive overeating runs in families the same way but I could be wrong. However there have been studies that show a strong genetic link. I had no real knowledge of my family's EDs when I got sick but became sick on my own anyway. It wasn't till later that I found out about that.

When it comes to eating habits, I think that the habits of the parents do affect the child. Such as obese, overeating parents are very likely to have larger children; parents that're perfectionist, focal on appearance or overly fussy with food are likely to have children that may develop anorexia. I say LIKELY. Not definitely. And this is just my opinion.

Companies are setting up children to be the buyers of the future and this is why there's so much campaign and effort going into get kids picking the right foods and knowing about nutrition. Getting kids and teens in the kitchen, grow your own... these're some of the schemes I know of in the UK. I think these sorts of things are both good and bad - taken to extremes, that is.

Children as young as three are being reported obese. At the same time, children equally young - four, I think, is the youngest I saw report of - are struggling with eating disorders. When they're THAT young I have to say that there MUST be some family influence.

I guess my mom and dad did a lot of dieting when I was younger and my mom was always making negative comments about her weight. I ended up eating the Zone diet one summer when I was about 9 while we were staying with my aunt (one of the anorexic ones) because she and my parents were on it. I remember a lot of gross protein shakes...definitely didn't need to be on a diet at 9 as I was underweight at the time.

i had anorexia and two of my cousins (from the same family) had troubles with anorexia for a little while anyways.  another cousin who was adopted (so you can't say hereditary) suffered from bulimia.

allnaturalgirl -     The genetic link idea is interesting. I'm gonna have to check out that book, too. Thanks for telling us about that.  I don't know where you are in your recovery, but I'm glad you at least recognize the problem because that probably means you are getting better. Good luck!

lalabanana - Very true. I just did a research paper on parents' influence on their children's eating behaviors and attitudes toward food. I agree with you that parents can contribute significantly to eating disorders. Many recovering anorexics even trace the origin of their disordered thinking about food, weight, and appearance to things their mothers taught them, whether their mothers realized or not. The key idea, I concluded, was that prevention of negative attitudes toward oneself (among other things) in any way is essential - and easier than rewiring a person's thought system after they develop an ED. Sorry off-topic. Maybe we need a new thread!

I think it is somewhat genetic, and partially around what enviroment you're brought up in.

I mean, come on, if you grow up with your parents obsessing that they're fat the weighing every morsel of food, even though they may be skinny, chances are, you'll grow up having that same problem. Why? It's what you're used to.

On the other hand, I think, when it's OCD related, it's genetic. I'm OCD (germs -showering all the time- and falling asleep and waking up at exact (weird- I mean, come on 6:03 AM?) times... even though it can be difficult with my insomnia.)

I have other relatives, whom I don't live with, that are also OCD... some have to check door looks/window locks, and others have to wear only one solid color, or else they freak.

IMOP, it can be a combination of the two.

I find it genetic in a way as well.

My mom has certain 'interesting' eating habits and she is quite slim. My dad is quite conscious about his food intake and his legs are stick thin.

Oddly enough, none of my aunts or uncles on either my mom's or dad's side suffered from any sort of eating disorder, but myself and a handful of my cousins on my dad's side have--4 girls, including myself, and 1 boy. Maybe it had something to do with my grandmother or grandfather, but I'm pretty sure they didn't have eating disorders.. odd indeed!

7 out of the 10 women on my Mum's side of the family have had EDs - mostly AN but some bulimics too. And my great uncle is also apparently very disordered in his eating. As far as I know only 3 of us have been treated for our EDs though...

Genetic? Methinks so. Though I'm not sure if AN ITSELF is genetic, I think maybe the personality traits that make a person resort to food abuse in times of stress are... Blah.

From what I have heard/seen, most eating disorders develop as a result of general weakness being instilled in a person since birth. This part is genetic - it is a characteristic passed down from the parents. After birth, once this characteristic is exposed to the media, public and other influencing factors (parents, family, friends), many people simply cannot handle criticism and will develop eating disorders because of it. They find it so easy to look down on themselves when really, there is nothing wrong. However, we are constantly reminded by the media that the only thing attractive is a size two and ribs showing. With all this pressure, how can we not expect people to develop eating disorders? My family makes fun of me continually for being overweight - but I do not go and stop eating because of it. I want to look, feel and BE healthy. 

We all know kids look up to their parents. If the parents would set a better example and teach their highly impressionable children that life is not only about looks, many kids would still be alive today instead of becoming skeletons and dying. It's all about the psychology.

So sad, all these people today trying to fix what isn't really broken.

EDs are all over my family...and as far as I know, I'm the only girl (cousins, aunts, mothers, grandmothers, even sister-in-laws) that hasn't touched on one at some point.

I have been afraid for years that if I started watching what I ate or focused too much on losing weight that I would end up with an ED. And growing up with an older sister and a mother who both had ED's...I had no idea how to eat healthy. I learned that I was supposed to stop eating if I wanted to lose weight. Thank goodness I scoffed at that idea and figured it all out. However, I'm ultra sensitive and defensive when I feel like I'm being accused of being unhealthy. So I have issues, but am so glad they were not issues that compromised my physical health.

My sister has learned a lot now that she's an adult and has a health aware husband, and is at a healthy weight. But she still isn't able to join me on CC for fear of it being a trigger. My cousins have all seemed to recover from their ED's and are all at a healthy weight, with the exception of one compulsive over-eater. But most people in my family are obsessed with appearance and size, so when we get together its a lot of talk about "Crystal is soooo beautiful and can you believe how underweight Sara is? She looks great! And Geraldine has such gorgeous hair...but she's gotten a little chubby this year, tsk tsk, I saw her eat a 1/4 piece of cake and didn't even scrape off the icing."

My family is also frequently obsessed with what I eat. It's never been "hi Julia, how was your day". Its more like "hey....what did you eat for lunch today?", "how many crackers did you eat?" or "do you think you'll have ice cream before you go to bed tonight?". And the questions are just "out of curiosity". I went on a date the other night and my mom didn't ask me about the guy. She asked "was the salad served with the dressing already mixed in?" and "are the left-overs still going to be good tomorrow?". Initially I thought she was posing analogous questions about my date...but no, she really was just curious about the food. Those questions always weirded me out, but now it all kinda makes sense. Sort of.

It certainly ties into the nature vs. nuture debate!

I am pretty certain my grandmother was an undiagnosed anorexic her entire adult life.  Nothing severe, but definitely disordered.  My mom has had her struggles as have some of her sisters.  Among the "children", I seem to be the only one.

My great grandmother had an ED, then I did and sadly after my sister developed one. When I was at the ED clinic I read something there that said it is very common for EDs to run in families especially in siblings.

no one in my family ever had one that I know of...the only thing that I can think of to have added on to me developing an unhealthy relationship with food was that "diet" was always a part of every conversation in our family. My stepdad always was on to my brother about his eating and made him go on starvation diets when we were younger. Yeah...pathetic, right? one of the reasons I cannot stand the man. But also, there's a lot of emotional and psychological issues that created a pathway for me to walk on towards disorderly behavior...it all depends, really...I think an ED is an ED, and that anyone is at risk to develope one, especially in today's day in age...

My Mom had bulimia/anorexia when she was in highschool and was still throwing up halfway through her pregnancy with me. Go figure right? I think with THAT kind of prenatal environment I'm not really surprised I ended up with an eating disorder as well. We are not positive but pretty sure that my grandma was anorexic too. And my aunt doesn't have an eating disorder but she definitly has disordered eating habits. I think it's a combination of nature and nurture, like everything else.

There is so much addiction in my family, it's seriously like a prerequisite. Brown hair, brown eyes, eating disorder...

There are certain types of personality that are more likely to suffer from eating disorders, and since personality is determined in part by genetics, then I think there is probably a minor heritage part in eating disorders.

Add to that any competitiveness the family (definitely apparent in my own) along with incidents during nurture, and the chance of a child having an eating disorder after a parent/auntie suffers from one are greatly increased.

My mum ate very little when I was growing up, but it was never really made into a 'big deal' - I didn't see my dad much and just assumed that adults didn't eat.  At the same time, she used to make both my brother and myself used to eat a LOT cos she said we needed to, and there was a part of us that almost thought we only had so many years in which we could eat.  My brother managed to stay pretty thin due to a fast metabolism, but I piled on the weight.  

Then at 14, I developed an ED.  Now I think my brother is going down the same slippery slope, and although my mum now eats pretty healthily (although still too little) there is a chance that subconsciously our minds still think about how little mum ate when we were younger.  

So I think having family with EDs can make individuals more susceptible - after all, in a way both nature and nurture are pushing you into a pattern of disordered eating.