Ever wonder why some people have to watch everything they eat in order to maintain a healthy weight while others can eat as much fast food and sweets as they want and never gain a pound? Well a genetic study done by a team from Harvard Medical School suggests that your parents may be to blame!
Doctors from Harvard School of Public Health revealed that your genes determine just how fattening certain foods are for you. Several types of obesity were explored in this study: "common obesity" (influenced by several genes) and a few rare types of obesity (influenced by a mutation in one gene.)
These rare forms of obesity are caused by a monogenetic mutation. This mutation usually affects genes related to appetite control, food intake and energy homeostasis.
The study found that "common obesity" is clearly genetic (backed by evidence in twin studies and other data), though it is not clear which genes are involved.
For some people, this new study offers hope that future studies will help pinpoint specific genes involved in obesity so that it can be avoided in the future. In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to lay off of the fried foods for a while!
This seems like a better way to go about living a healthier lifestyle than many of the diets that are out there. Not everything works for everyone in the same way. Using genetics and the certain genes for obesity could be better targeted or looked into, or just foods altered in order to work with these genes to counteract obesity. Although, any sort of GMO's are still a bit frowned upon, they could still be useful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Megan in that everyone is different and other certain foods affect others differently. I am one of those people that eat a ridiculous amount of food, but I am starting to slow that down because down the road it is just unhealthy everyone.
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