Not a Weakness of Will: Hormonal Imbalance the Primary Cause of Dangerous Overeating
A joint scientific team from Tyumen Medical University (TMU) and the HSE University in Russia has demonstrated that a predisposition to excessive food consumption is not due to a lack of willpower, but primarily results from hormonal imbalances, genetic factors, and the individual’s psychological and emotional traits. Researchers successfully identified precise threshold values for hunger and satiety hormones associated with an increased risk of eating disorders, obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.
The study, published in the journal “Medical Advice,” focused on analyzing the genetic traits of patients with early-stage carbohydrate metabolism disorders (prediabetes). The scientists tracked the behavior of the body’s key appetite regulators, such as the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which are responsible for generating feelings of hunger and fullness, and observed how these hormones are influenced by the patients’ surrounding social, occupational, and behavioral conditions.
These new data enable physicians to identify individuals at highest risk of developing eating disorders and their associated complications at an early stage. Assessing eating behavior patterns in primary prevention empowers endocrinologists and internists to develop more effective therapeutic strategies, helping to delay or prevent the onset of diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Researchers emphasized that early intervention and close collaboration between the patient and an integrated medical team—comprising the attending physician, a psychologist, and nursing staff—ensure effective management of eating disorders and address the patient’s psychological and emotional aspects during routine preventive visits. This new diagnostic approach is currently being implemented in university clinics and medical centers in the Tyumen region, with scientists aiming to further develop the methodology in the future to make it more suitable and tailored to each patient based on their unique biology.
