Written Assignment #4

Written Assignment 4

Diesel Johnson

The article I have chosen focuses on the genetic side of eating disorders, specifically identifying the genes that may influence the likelihood of a person to suffer from one of three eating disorders. I Chose this article because I have always been interested in different diets and how they affect the body and have recently discovered how genetics play a role in diet. Eating disorder affect 9% of our population and can be very harmful to our health. Furthermore reports show that this number has increased due to the pandemic increasing stress and disrupting our lives. This study is even more important as there are no medications for current eating disorders, only certain therapy.

The three disorders this study focuses on are, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder. Note that these are obviously not the only eating disorders that exist or the only ones suspected to be genetically linked, they are however some of the most common. The study was conducted by the Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative (EDGI).  One of EDGI’s main goals was to dismiss the myth that these disorders are a choice but instead a genetic disease.

This article summarized the plans, the goals, and the importance of this study on eating disorders. How they can be dangerous and have not received the attention they disserve as there is no medication for these disorders and most believe it is just a choice. This study shows promising results, and the article did a great job of summarizing the material accurately. The supporting article I found is a research article that supported everything from the Virginia pilot article but in future detail.

Although the Virginia pilot was accurate and to the point, I do not believe it contained enough information to fully present the seriousness of the topic. The supporting article went further in-depth with family hereditability, twin studies, and how the disorders develop. Showing how they are more related to genetics rather than environmental factors by showing the trend of these disorders getting passed down. The supporting article even related to genetics class by incorporating gene linkage which narrowed down the chromosomes that scientists believe hold the genes responsible.

In the end the Virginia Pilot did a great job of attracting attention to a real problem that can be easily ignored today with other pandemics going on. Most of us can relate to this as you may know someone who has suffered from one of these disorders. and promote. While the first article did a great job of attracting attention for a real problem with real data. I believe the supporting article was much more in depth and clearly showed more research and knowledge that indicated genes are clearly related to eating disorders.

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