Most of us sometimes try to calm our nerves by binge-eating. When it is occasional, it may lead to some extra weight or guilty feelings. When it is a regular habit, however, it is clinically considered an eating disorder. In fact, more than 8% of the population experiences some kind of eating disorder at some point in their lives (US data). And, unfortunately, around 5% of women and 2% of men are affected by serious conditions, such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder (especially teenagers and young adults).
Until now, research in this field had been focused on the brain and the cognitive causes of these disorders. Now, a French team of scientists has shed some more light on the issue: What if the intestine and, specifically, the gut microbiota could also play a role?