A complex relationship among genes, hormones, and social factors can lead to eating disorders in women. New research shows that during the menstrual cycle, ovarian hormones turn genetic risk on and off in the body.
“Our previous studies were some of the first to examine shifts in eating disorder risk across the menstrual cycle,” says Kelly Klump, professor of psychology at Michigan State University.
“We found that changes in ovarian hormones drive increases in binge eating and emotional eating across the cycle, which can be highly problematic for women, particularly since the cycle reoccurs monthly.”
Emotional Eating
Researchers have now zeroed in on how and why this phenomenon occurs. Ovarian hormones act on genes within the brain and body to trigger physical changes in the body. These hormones can change genes that trigger psychological symptoms in women, such as emotional eating.
Not only did rates of emotional eating change across the menstrual cycle, but also the degree to which genes influenced eating patterns changed as well, Klump says. This increase in genetic effects was remarkable considering that it occurs over the course of just days, not months or years.
