Anorexia nervosa sufferers - and those who have recovered from the eating disorder - are being asked to donate their blood so scientists can investigate the condition's hereditary links and why there is a spike in cases when women are going through puberty and menopause. The world's largest and most rigorous investigation into anorexia, led by international researchers, hopes to identify and better understand the disorder's causes and ultimately help lead to a treatment or cure that could help the estimated 53,000 Australians suffering from it. Amongst those who plan to roll up their sleeve in Sydney on Tuesday is 27-year-old founder of website lazylaw.com and blogger Kate Horman, who suffered from anorexia for ten years before she turned her life around. Scroll down for video . Amongst those who plan to give blood for research into Anorexia nervosa next Tuesday is lawyer and blogger Kate Horman, who suffered from anorexia for ten years before she turned her life around . At 17, Ms Horman began to eliminate food groups from her diet, consuming up to 20 laxatives a day and eventually began to starve herself until she weighed only a tiny 30kg. 'My hair started falling out, I was cold and tired all the time, aching all the time. I was incredibly skinny, I had no energy, was very anxious, very depressed at times and I slept a lot. I basically just shut myself out of the world. I was very sick,' Ms Horman told Daily Mail Australia. 'My mum is the only reason I am alive today - I was too sick to fight to stay alive myself. The number of times I would collapse - I lost count - and mum was just waiting for the day that I'd collapse and not get back up - that was her greatest fear. She didn't have a life outside of looking after me, she had to work, but there was no time for anything else, and it caused her a huge amount of stress and anxiety. It's not only the person with anorexia suffering, but families as well.' World-leading anorexia nervosa researcher, Professor Cynthia Bulik told Daily Mail Australia that new research has revealed that people living with anorexia nervosa had four-times the number of relatives with anorexia nervosa than those who have never had the illness. Pictured with her mother (left) who she says is 'the only reason I am alive today', Ms Horman said she was 17 when she began to eliminate food groups from her diet and consuming up to 20 laxatives a day. Eventually she starved herself until she weighed only a tiny 30kg . Pictured as a toddler, the now 27-year-old said he grandmothers comments have always stayed with her: 'At about 15... there was a photo taken of me in my bikini during the summer holidays and a few weeks later she sent a letter in the mail saying she would no longer include me in the family photo album because the pictures were no longer a true reflection of me. I was utterly gutted, ashamed and heartbroken' 'We still don't have effective treatments or medication that target anorexia nervosa and we really need to start looking at this illness through a new lens.' She said research has shown that anorexia nervosa is astonishingly six times more common in mothers, four times more common in siblings and five times more common in the children of people living with the illness. But World-leading anorexia nervosa researcher, Professor Cynthia Bulik said around 60 per cent of the reason for an individual succumbing to the eating disorder is genetic: Kate Horman (pictured), who once weighed 30kg at the height of her illness, now estimates she weighs a healthy 55kg . 'We have been doing family and twin studies so we know anorexia runs in families and we know it is inheritable. The next logical step is to find out who is predisposed to the illness by identifying those genetic markers.' Prof Bulik said a significant number of middle aged women are presenting with the disorder which she believes could be linked to menopause. 'We know puberty is a risk factor and menopause is basically the biological bookend of puberty so there needs to be more research around that risk factor.' Ms Horman believes that a number of contributing factors led her own condition to develop, including her father abandoning her when she was 11-years-old, a level of abuse she experienced as a child and her own 'high achiever' attitude. 'There were comments that were made by my grandmother which I took to heart that made me feel ashamed about my image,' she said. 'There was a point where I had started to go through puberty at about 15 - and I think all girls go through this puffy fat stage - I was never overweight, but there was a photo taken of me in my bikini during the summer holidays and a few weeks later she [my grandmother] sent a letter in the mail saying she would no longer include me in the family photo album because the pictures were no longer a true reflection of me. I was utterly gutted, ashamed and heartbroken. Professor Builk (centre) is leading a study which is investigating the condition's hereditary links and why there is a spike in cases when women are going through puberty and menopause . 'I really just wanted to fit in and be liked and be accepted. When the anorexia started to develop I was at a prestigious girls private school. It was when I started to lose some weight that I became more accepted and more popular and it spiralled out of control from there.' But Prof Bulik said the underlying causes of anorexia has been misunderstood for such a long time because so many people out there still believe the root cause of the issue is linked to sociocultural factors. Standing alone, neither genetics or environmental factors are wholly responsible for an individual succumbing to the eating disorder anorexia. Professor Builk said it is important to understand they both contribute with around 60 per cent of the reason being hereditary and 40 per cent being related to environmental factors. 'I try to get people to think about it like this- genes are the loaded gun but environment is the one pulling the trigger. The research hopes to identify and better understand the disorder's causes and ultimately help lead to a treatment or cure that could help the estimated 53,000 Australians suffering from it (stock image) 'So, if someone who is predisposed to anorexia nervosa goes on a diet because of sociocultural reasons, that could then unlock the predisposition to the disease resulting in an eating disorder,' she added. If they can get a large enough sample Prof Bulik hopes to develop a 'biological profile' by looking at genetics and environmental factors that will help will identify what constitutes a high risk individual. This could lead to massive breakthroughs in early detection and intervention, while also explaining the biological pathways that send such different messages about food. Prof Bulik explained there's a 'fundamental difference' in how people with anorexia nervosa react to hunger. 'We still don't have effective treatments or medication that target anorexia nervosa and we really need to start looking at this illness through a new lens,' Professor Bulik said . 'While some people may feel angry, nervous or stressed when they are hungry, people with the predisposition to anorexia feel like that at meal time instead and find that starvation actually calms them.' It is now up to researchers to find a treatment that can help 'calm sufferers' in a different and healthier way. While 1,100 Australians have already rolled up their sleeves and donated to the the study Professor Bulik is hoping to recruit at least 2,200 blood donors within the next two years, in Australia alone. Ms Horman said she turned her life around by changing everything about her life - quitting her job, breaking up with her boyfriend of eight years, moving out of her home and going overseas on her own . She said there were a lot of people getting involved because they felt it may help them in the future but most of the time it's because the community who have been affected by this devastating disease would give anything to make sure someone else doesn't have to go through the same tramatic experience. Ms Horman has encouraged anorexia sufferers and those who beat the illness to take part in the study . Ms Horman, who said she turned her life around by changing everything about her life - quitting her job, breaking up with her boyfriend of eight years, moving out of her home and going overseas on her own - is imploring others to take part in the research. 'There was really nothing out there for me in terms of help except my mum and my GP, that's why this study is so important to me, because there's a real lack of funding for anorexia. A medical study will lend weight to the severity of the illness,' she said. 'Anyone who has suffered or who is suffering or an eating disorder I would absolutely encourage them to give blood because without them this study is not going to be able to move forward.The more people we have the better the scientists and doctors will be able to map the genetic profile and the more accurate the study will be. 'Most importantly, eating disorder sufferers need to believe that, as hard as it might seem, it is possible to beat it. I never thought I'd get over the anorexia and recover, but I have freed myself from this illness.' Professor Bulik will be visiting Sydney next Tuesday to recruit for the ground breaking research study.
New research into anorexia nervosa has linked illness to genetics . World's largest and most rigorous investigation into disorder is asking Australian sufferers to donate blood . It could lead to revolutionary advances in early detection and intervention . Lawyer and blogger Kate Horman, suffered from anorexia for ten years . She is one of many who will roll up her sleeve for the study .