Binge-eating among teenagers may be linked to a genetic flaw, researchers from the University of College London's Institute of Child Health and the University of Queensland, Australia revealed.
Analyzing the data of over 6,000 participants between the ages of 14 and 16, the researchers found out that some teenagers have a genetic variation located in the FTO gene that likely causes them to gorge on food by 20 percent.
But the pattern is more common in young girls, which means that females are at a higher risk for binge-eating due to the "greedy" gene by as much as 30 percent, according to Mirror.
As it is, 10 percent of adults and teenagers are already binge-eaters, which is defined by the experts as "excessive over eating with a lack of control over what they are eating," and the FTO gene has been determined to trigger weight gain, according to a previous research.
"We now know variations in the FTO gene can predict binge eating in teenagers, and binge eating in turn can predict obesity. Eventually this finding could allow us to develop more targeted treatment for binge eating, and enable much earlier intervention so young people don't develop obesity," said Nadia Macali, senior lecturer and honorary consultant psychiatrist at UCL's Institute for Child Health, via the Independent.
The research is still in its early stages and scientists are still trying to determine more factors to binge-eating other than genetics.
"While it's known that a combination of genetic and environmental factors lead to eating disorders, until now there has been limited research into how specific genes increase the likelihood of binge-eating behaviors in adolescence that can lead to obesity." said David Evans from the team of researchers, according to a press release.
The study has been published in the journal Obesity.
