Eating disorders rarely have a single cause. They develop through a mix of factors, including our relationships, our experiences, and the genes we inherit from our parents.
At ABBI Clinic, we know that trying to understand where an eating disorder has come from can feel overwhelming, especially when there’s no simple answer. This guide walks through what the research shows about genetics and eating disorders and what that means for your treatment and recovery.
Are eating disorders genetic? The short answer
Yes, genetics play a significant role. According to the Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI), the largest study of its kind, genetics account for an estimated 40-60% of a person’s risk of developing an eating disorder.
It’s called heritability, and it’s a population-level estimate rather than a personal prediction. It tells us how much genetics contributes to risk across large groups of people, not whether any one person will develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders are not strictly passed down through genetics, but a genetic predisposition makes someone more vulnerable to developing one in combination with other factors.
How genetics influence specific eating disorders
Genetic risk isn’t identical across every eating disorder. Researchers have studied anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder individually, mainly through twin and family studies that compare how often relatives share a diagnosis. Because these studies use different populations and methods, the exact percentages vary, but the overall pattern holds: genetics do matter for all three conditions.
Anorexia nervosa
Twin studies estimate that genetics accounts for roughly a third to over half of the risk of developing anorexia nervosa, with one PubMed Central review reporting a range as wide as 33-84% depending on the population studied. Much of this risk is thought to involve genes that affect appetite regulation and the brain’s reward system, including chemical messengers, like serotonin and dopamine, which influence hunger cues and how the brain responds to food and body image.
Bulimia nervosa
Genetic factors have been estimated to account for between 28% and 83% of the risk of bulimia nervosa, according to one PubMed Central study. Research also points to genes involved in impulse control and reward processing, which may help explain why bulimia nervosa so often involves cycles of binge eating and compensatory behaviour.
Binge eating disorder
For binge-eating disorder, PubMed Central heritability estimates sit at around 41-57%. As with the other conditions, genetic vulnerability appears to interact with how the brain manages reward and appetite, though research into the specific mechanisms is still developing.
It’s not just genes: the role of environment and psychology
Genetics can make someone more vulnerable to developing an eating disorder, but vulnerability isn’t always the sole influence. Whether that vulnerability develops into an eating disorder or not often depends on a range of external influences, including:
- Trauma: Difficult or distressing experiences can be hard to process, and disordered eating can become a way of coping with pain that feels otherwise unmanageable.
- Media and cultural pressure: If you’re more genetically vulnerable to an eating disorder, you may respond more strongly to pressures around body image and appearance than someone without that vulnerability.
- Family and peer pressure: Comments and expectations from the people closest to us, particularly during the teenage years, can act as a trigger for someone who is already predisposed.
This overlap between genetics and environment also explains why heritability estimates vary so much between studies. Twin and family studies are the main way researchers measure genetic influence, but twins and siblings usually share more than DNA. They often share the same household, the same cultural environment, and sometimes the same difficult experiences, which makes it hard to separate genetic and environmental influence with complete precision.
What the research says
Our understanding of the genetics of eating disorders has grown considerably in recent years, thanks largely to two strands of research.
The Eating Disorders Genetics Initiative (EDGI) is the largest study of how genes and environment influence eating disorders, funded by the US National Institute of Mental Health. Building on earlier research that established a clear genetic component to anorexia nervosa, EDGI is now extending that work to bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder, so our understanding of all three conditions continues to grow.
A separate 2025 study published in Nature Communications analysed health records for more than 67,000 people with eating disorders across Denmark and Sweden. It found that eating disorders share genetic overlap with other conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism. This kind of research helps explain why eating disorders so often occur alongside other mental health conditions and why treatment needs to consider the whole picture, not just eating behaviours in isolation.
What does this mean for treatment and recovery?
Understanding the genetic and environmental factors behind an eating disorder shapes how we approach treatment at ABBI Clinic.
Early intervention is one of the clearest findings across this research. The sooner someone receives specialist support, the better their long-term outcomes tend to be, which is why we focus on identifying risk factors, including family history, as early as possible.
We also use this understanding to personalise your care. If you have a family history of an eating disorder, that context helps us build a treatment plan around your specific biological and psychological needs, alongside your personal circumstances. And because ABBI Clinic provides the full range of specialist eating disorder care under one roof, from Day Care to Outpatient support, delivered in person, online, or a mix of both, we can adjust the intensity of your treatment as your needs change, without ever needing to refer you elsewhere.
FAQS: eating disorders and genetics
Can genetic testing tell me if I’m at risk of an eating disorder?
Not directly. There’s currently no genetic test that can diagnose or predict an eating disorder. What we can do is look at your family history alongside your personal circumstances to understand your level of risk and put the right support in place early.
Does a genetic link mean an eating disorder can’t be treated?
Not at all. A genetic vulnerability affects the likelihood of developing an eating disorder, not your ability to recover from one. If eating disorders run in your family, we’ll build your treatment plan around that, alongside the same clinically led, evidence-based care we offer every patient.
Why do people with a similar genetic risk develop eating disorders at different ages, or not at all?
Because genetics is only part of the picture. Two people with a similar genetic vulnerability can have very different life experiences, and it’s often those experiences, combined with biology, that determine whether
and when an eating disorder develops.
Access eating disorder treatment at ABBI Clinic
If you’re noticing signs of an eating disorder in yourself or someone you love, you don’t need to work out the cause before reaching out. Our team can help you understand what’s happening and build a treatment plan around you, whatever the underlying factors are.
Fill in the form below or call us, and we’ll guide you through the next steps.
