Dissecting the biology of feeding and eating disorders.

Feeding and eating disorders (FEDs) are common and have been shown to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), and binge-eating disorder (BED) are all heritable and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) reveal both psychiatric and metabolic/anthropometric genetic risk factors for AN. GWASs for other FEDs are underway. AN, BN, and BED might diverge etiologically in their genetic relation with metabolic and anthropometric traits. Functional genomic tools will enable translation of variants to genes, genes to pathways, and pathways to metabolic outcomes to convert genetic findings into medically actionable outcomes. This work is poised to yield the first interventions for FEDs that are informed by disorder-specific biology. Feeding and eating disorders (FEDs) are heterogenous and characterized by varying patterns of dysregulated eating and weight. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are clarifying their underlying biology and their genetic relationship to other psychiatric and metabolic/anthropometric traits. Genetic research on anorexia nervosa (AN) has identified eight significant loci and uncovered genetic correlations implicating both psychiatric and metabolic/anthropometric risk factors. Careful explication of these metabolic contributors may be key to developing effective and enduring treatments for devastating, life-altering, and frequently lethal illnesses. We discuss clinical phenomenology, genomics, phenomics, intestinal microbiota, and functional genomics and propose a path that translates variants to genes, genes to pathways, and pathways to metabolic outcomes to advance the science and eventually treatment of FEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]