A large genetic analysis has identified DNA regions linked to binge-eating behavior and anorexia nervosa, suggesting that the two share genetic ties to other psychiatric conditions but run in opposite directions when it comes to body weight. The findings, published in Nature Mental Health, extend eating disorder genetics beyond its long focus on anorexia. Anorexia nervosa is a condition where individuals experience an intense fear of gaining weight, leading them to severely restrict their food intake to maintain a dangerously low body weight. Binge-eating behavior involves episodes of eating unusually large amounts of food while feeling a loss of control. Eating disorders also overlap, and people often move from one diagnosis to another over time. A 2010 twin study found that anorexia and bulimia nervosa, a condition in which people of normal or higher weight binge eat and then try to compensate through behaviors such as vomiting or fasting, share a moderate portion of their genetic risk. Large-scale gene-mapping studies, however, have centered on anorexia: a 2019 study by the same research consortium identified the …