"Fat" Gene Found by Scientists

[Miss Anthrope]

A gene that contributes to obesity has been identified for the first time, promising to explain why some people easily put on weight while others with similar lifestyles stay slim.
People who inherit one version of the gene rather than another are 70 per cent more likely to be obese, British scientists have discovered. One in six people has the most vulnerable genetic make-up and weighs an average 3kg more than those with the lowest risk. They also have 15 per cent more body fat.

Article


ETA: This is a priceless remark from the comment section below the article. Ignore the science, trust your bible! Surely these obese scientists are just lazy!

I believe that a 'fat' gene is not the cause of obesity; laziness is the cause of obesity, the bible even states this. People should stop trying to find a balme for their laziness.Shanequa, Roxboro, NC/ USA

 

[El Greco]

First, it's highly unlikely that a single gene is the cause of obesity (granted, the article says "contributes"). For example, even with the same predisposition of storing fat, appetite would play a major role.

Second, 3kg ? 3kg ? 3kg more doesn't make one fat. If all the difference between the highest risk and the lowest risk groups is 3kg on average, then the finding doesn't seem to me too revolutionary.

Besides, I recall another "first time" when a "fat gene" had been discovered. Or maybe health journalists extrapolate much more than what they should. As usual.

 

[CardZeus]

Another excuse for the fatties - it's my genes!!

A simple physical fact - you can't get something from nothing. Fat people take in more calories than they use, end of. If your metabolism (or genetic make-up) is such that you 'put on weight easily' then you need to eat less and exercise more. It's about finding your own level. 2000 calories a day might be fine for some, but for others it can be way too much (or too little). One thing's for sure though; if you are genetically predisposed or have glandular problems - you can't put on an ounce of weight if you dont eat. (Breatharians excepted)

 

[El Greco]

Another excuse for the fatties - it's my genes!!

A simple physical fact - you can't get something from nothing. Fat people take in more calories than they use, end of. If your metabolism (or genetic make-up) is such that you 'put on weight easily' then you need to eat less and exercise more. It's about finding your own level. 2000 calories a day might be fine for some, but for others it can be way too much (or too little). One thing's for sure though; if you are genetically predisposed or have glandular problems - you can't put on an ounce of weight if you dont eat. (Breatharians excepted)

Well, I agree that there are a lot of excuses, but also for some it's easier than it is for others. Appetite, as I said, is a major player. Two people with the same caloric requirements may be needing different intakes to feel satiety. Even if the difference is just 200 kcal/day, this would translate in a good 8kg of fat per year. Then there is what we call "partitioning", eg where the ingested energy goes. If you are an endomorph it's more likely to become fat, if you are a mesomorph it's more likely to become muscle.

But of course, I still think that for the vaaaaaast majority of people it is perfectly possible to overcome their genetic or cultural predispositions and get and stay lean. Science will keep discovering why exactly two people have different body compositions while they both eat crap and are sedentary, but this doesn't mean that their predispositions are so strong that can't be beat. There are certainly genetic, cultural, social and other reasons for the current plague of obesity but they can be overcome.

I see fat persons staying at the same weight for years, and they blame their metabolism. In most cases this is ridiculous. If they can stay at a fixed weight for 10 years, then the could diet down for a year or so, preserve their muscle mass and stay at their healthier, lower weight for ever while eating exactly the same as before.

 

[Earthborn]

A gene that contributes to obesity has been identified for the first time

Really, the first time? I'll bet that comes as a surprise to these people.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

A simple physical fact - you can't get something from nothing. Fat people take in more calories than they use, end of. If your metabolism (or genetic make-up) is such that you 'put on weight easily' then you need to eat less and exercise more.

Really? You're absolutely sure that the amount of fat a person accumulates is simply related to the amount of food he eats?

~~ Paul

 

[Rolfe]

What I don't understand is why anyone thinks this is at all surprising. You only have to look at body shapes in families to realise that a tendency to put on weight is likely to have some degree of genetic component. Of course that genetic component could influence anything, from how much fidgeting the person does to burn off calories, to how big their appetite is.

Then again, in animal husbandry there is the concept of the food conversion ratio. People have been selectively breeding food animals for generations to get the maximum food conversion ratio, and they have had success. Hard to do that if there was no genetic component.

Rolfe.

 

[frank462]

I wonder when Krispy Kreme will begin offering DNA therapy donuts?

 

[El Greco]

Really? You're absolutely sure that the amount of fat a person accumulates is simply related to the amount of food he eats?

~~ Paul

The statement you quoted is true. To be more exact, it would have to be "Fat people have taken in at some time more calories than what they used".

And that statement isn't necessarily the same with your question.

 

[Kaarjuus]

What I don't understand is why anyone thinks this is at all surprising. You only have to look at body shapes in families to realise that a tendency to put on weight is likely to have some degree of genetic component.

Families are not that good an example, methinks, as families share something that's more important than genes - lifestyles.

 

[Molinaro]

The statement you quoted is true. To be more exact, it would have to be "Fat people have taken in at some time more calories than what they used".

And that statement isn't necessarily the same with your question.

My mother is a heavy woman. And she has always been a light eater, always on a diet, never eating junk, yet would always be very heavy. When she would reduce her calories enough to lose weight, she would become quite ill, as though she were malnourished.

I find it rather arrogant of people to simply say heavy people eat too much without considering how many different possible illnesses could be at play. We are not all created equal, with respect to our DNA. The rate at which one person's intestines absord good/bad nutrients may not be anything like another person's.

This is definitely a topic where I realy don't care what people 'think'. This is an issue for the medical community to talk about.

 

[casebro]

I still think that for the vaaaaaast majority of people it is perfectly possible to overcome their genetic or cultural predispositions and get and stay lean. Science will keep discovering why exactly two people have different body compositions while they both eat crap and are sedentary, but this doesn't mean that their predispositions are so strong that can't be beat. There are certainly genetic, cultural, social and other reasons for the current plague of obesity but they can be overcome.

I see fat persons staying at the same weight for years, and they blame their metabolism. In most cases this is ridiculous. If they can stay at a fixed weight for 10 years, then the could diet down for a year or so, preserve their muscle mass and stay at their healthier, lower weight for ever while eating exactly the same as before.

Overcome? How?

I'm skeptical of diets.

Show me one study of a 'plan' that loses even 10% of weight for the majority of entrants, and keeps it off permanently. 5-10 year followup. Ain't none.

If there was, we'd all hear about it. From the NIH. None of the "Diet Plans" give out any real numbers. Would anybody sign up for Jenny Craig if her ads said "but you are just gonna put it back on anyhow"?

It just don't happen. Every fatso puts it back on. Short of a concentration camp setting, but you'll have to let them out someday....hmmm, whats the weight gain/loss in prisons?

Call it "The Apetite Gene". The only thing that nearly works is gastric surgery. Make it impossible to gain weight. Yet that isn't permanent for many patients either.

 

[El Greco]

My mother is a heavy woman. And she has always been a light eater, always on a diet, never eating junk, yet would always be very heavy. When she would reduce her calories enough to lose weight, she would become quite ill, as though she were malnourished.

It is very probable that while dieting she was indeed malnourished. How long before she felt "ill" ? Because malnourishment doesn't happen suddenly. Also, does she feel ill when cutting just 200 kcals from her diet ? Because with such a small amount (or by eating the same as before and expending 200 kcal by walking), she could be losing 8kg of fat per year.

I find it rather arrogant of people to simply say heavy people eat too much without considering how many different possible illnesses could be at play. We are not all created equal, with respect to our DNA. The rate at which one person's intestines absord good/bad nutrients may not be anything like another person's.

I think you have no idea what you're talking about. First, I never said that fat people eat too much on a daily basis. Your mother may be eating very few calories now, but at some point she used to eat more than what she expended. That's how she got fat.

The rate at which nutrients are absorbed, even if different among people, has nothing to do with the subject here. What makes one fat is what gets absorbed.

This is definitely a topic where I realy don't care what people 'think'. This is an issue for the medical community to talk about.

I'm not saying what "I think". What I have said in this thread are facts. What I find arrogant is you dismissing those facts by using an anecdote which doesn't even have a rational base. Unless your mother has been diagnosed with very specific diseases then there's no reason that she couldn't lose weight.

You quoted a post of mine that you found "arrogant", yet is 100% correct. Perhaps you don't like the opinions of the "medical community" when they don't agree with your preconceived notions. Do me a favor and say whatever you have to say without quoting me again.

 

[El Greco]

Overcome? How?

I'm skeptical of diets.

Show me one study of a 'plan' that loses even 10% of weight for the majority of entrants, and keeps it off permanently. 5-10 year followup. Ain't none.

If there was, we'd all hear about it. From the NIH. None of the "Diet Plans" give out any real numbers. Would anybody sign up for Jenny Craig if her ads said "but you are just gonna put it back on anyhow"?

It just don't happen. Every fatso puts it back on. Short of a concentration camp setting, but you'll have to let them out someday....hmmm, whats the weight gain/loss in prisons?

Call it "The Apetite Gene". The only thing that nearly works is gastric surgery. Make it impossible to gain weight. Yet that isn't permanent for many patients either.

I don't think I'm getting you. Are you saying that there are no people who have managed to lose weight ? And those people didn't get on a "diet" ?

Perhaps you are talking about popular diets which were supposedly (or really) followed by obese people without results, or with temporary results. About people who think that a diet book will make them magically lose weight without any determination from their part.

"Ain't none" ? This is a blanket statement if I ever saw one. I know many people personally, and a google search for "body transformation" will find you many pages with before and after photos. Yes, many successful dieters get the lost weight back. Others don't. Others do but many many years later. I never said it's easy. I said it's perfectly possible. Meaning that the genetic predisposition doesn't make it prohibitive.

You remind me of how the Greek press hailed the article in the OP today. Exact translation from a site:

Obesity is a matter of genes

Yes, you read it well. It's not the cheese-pies, not the fats, nor the ice-creams. This is an official conclusion of British scientists. People who have the gene more than once, have 70% more chances of becoming obese.

That is a sorry state of mind. It's not my gorging, it's my genes. Pathetic.

 

[Earthborn]

The rate at which nutrients are absorbed, even if different among people, has nothing to do with the subject here. What makes one fat is what gets absorbed.

Aren't you contradicting yourself here?

 

[Molinaro]

The rate at which nutrients are absorbed, even if different among people, has nothing to do with the subject here. What makes one fat is what gets absorbed.

If your body is very efficient at absorbing bad stuff, while being poor at absorbing the good stuff, eating enough to get enough of the good stuff you need will make you fat. Get it?

And yes, eventualy my mother was diagnosed with a specific disease. But hey, if you prefer to keep your bigoted "they're fat because they eat too much" attitude, go ahead.

 

[El Greco]

Aren't you contradicting yourself here?

What I mean is that what doesn't get absorbed doesn't enter the equation at all (or perhaps only insofar as a fraction of the appetite is concerned). People with ineffective GI tracts will not be getting the energy they need and they'll be feeling hungry so they'll be eating more. People with high absorption rates will be feeling fuller with less food.

But again, unless we're talking about very specific diseases, I doubt that absorption rates can vary significantly.

 

[parrotslave]

When it comes down to the very basics, obesity comes from taking in more calories than one burns.

But there are other factors involved.

For example, brain scans of carb addicts show brain activity similar to drug addicts. The reward center demands carbs the same way a heroin junkie's brain demands smack. Is it genetic? Maybe.


Most times people eat until the body signals the brain they have had enough. If something interferes with that signal they will overeat. I've read reports of studies that show that high fructose corn syrup, which is found in a wide range of foods, is interfering with the full signals to the brain.

There is a condition called insulin resistance, often a precursor to diabetes, where frequent high levels of insulin in the blood make cells resistant to insulin so even though there is plenty of fuel available in the body, the cells aren't getting what they need and send hunger signals to the brain. Insulin resistant people can eat until they can't fit in another bite and still feel the urge to eat more.

It is a very complex issue that involves more than just portion control and exercise for many.

 

[Katana]

The absolutely soaring rate of obesity (with morbid obesity rising the fastest at least in the U.S.) is not due simply to genetics. Our genetic make-up has not changed so dramatically in the last couple of decades to account for the HUGE and rising number of obese people. What has changed? Our consumption of processed and fast food has increased, portions are bigger, and our physical activity has decreased. Doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to figure out what's going on.

 

[El Greco]

If your body is very efficient at absorbing bad stuff, while being poor at absorbing the good stuff, eating enough to get enough of the good stuff you need will make you fat. Get it?

No, I don't get it. What exactly is the good stuff ? What's the bad stuff ? Is your mother continuously gaining weight ? Because, by your logic, this is what must be happening. If she's being stable for even a month then she must be feeling "ill" since she doesn't absorb enough of the "good stuff".

And yes, eventualy my mother was diagnosed with a specific disease.

May we know which one ? This would at least add some meaning to this discussion.

Look, my own mother is obese and I haven't managed to make her diet down. Not yet, at least. But I'm trying. What I have managed to do though, is make her quit the excuses and realize the culprit is not her "metabolism" but her eating and living habits. There are many reasons that someone may resort to overeating: Loneliness, depression, anxiety, boredom. But this has nothing to do with what we're discussing here.