As December 2024 arrives, we thought it was a good time to reflect on the year. Here's an update on our activities over 2024.

EDGI Progress: Recruitment Milestones

We are thrilled with the progress we've made and are deeply grateful for your participation, which is crucial to the success of this research. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to work to

The above images provide insights into the progress we have made in Aotearoa New Zealand & internationally.

By March of 2024, the following were achieved:

  • 5,006 participants in Aotearoa New Zealand provided in-depth phenotypical data, via the survey completions.
  • An incredible 99% of our targets provided saliva samples (3,406 participants), these samples are crucial for the genetic analysis phase of the study (currently underway).
  • We achieved full geographical coverage across Aotearoa New Zealand, with participants from every region.
  • Many participants reported living with (or having lived experience) anorexia nervosa (53%), followed by participants with bulimia nervosa (32%) and binge-eating disorder (15%).

So, what is happening in 2025?

As of December 2024, the provided saliva samples are being processed by our colleagues at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane Australia.

  • Our colleagues are extracting the DNA from the provided samples, this allows for genotyping (reading your genetic code), and this is part of the sample process.
  • We hope that this stage of the study will be complete by March 2025

Once the genotype data is available, it will be combined with other eating disorder genetic data for analysis in a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS). This analysis will compare genetic differences between those with and without eating disorders to identify key insights about the genes associated with eating disorders.

For much of 2024 and 2025, we are analysing the phenotypic data (survey responses) you provided. We are hoping that the first articles and outputs from these analyses will be publicly available in 2025.

  • We will continue to update our website and social media pages with information related to the insights and outcomes from the analyses of both the genotypic and phenotypic data.

So, what is happening in 2025?

 We are recruiting participants!

We are thrilled to announce that, thanks to all the success of EDGI and the wonderful participants, we have received funding for a follow-up study -EDGI2!

EDGI2 extends our work, and includes additional eating disorders, such as ARFID.
If you've already participated in EDGI, you won't need to participate again as your contribution will continue to provide important information, but you can help spread the word to others who haven't yet joined, such as younger family or friends or others who might not have heard about this research.
We are updating our website and social media pages over the summer. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to receive updated news about our progress.

With background.

Thank you, ngā mihi nui!

We are deeply grateful for your participation and ongoing involvement in our community, you have been the key to the success of this study.

We are truly excited about the progress and optimistic about what 2025 will hold for the eating disorder research field.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this mission to advance the understanding of eating disorders.

Thank you again for your support and involvement.

The EDGI-NZ Team

Martin Kennedy, Jennifer Jordan, Hannah Kennedy, Michaela Pettie, Allison Miller, Leonie Hutchinson, Lana Cleland and Emma Vlasiuk.

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