Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Obesity Linked to Genetics




Two papers published in the journal Nature on February 11, discuss new research, which found that genes play a significant role in obesity, and could help explain why some people are more likely to gain weight and develop obesity-linked conditions than others.  After the researchers analyzed genetic samples from more that 300,000 people, they were able to identify more that 140 locations across their sets of DNA that play a role in obesity.  In addition to these findings, they also located new biological pathways that play important role in obesity.  One of the papers focused on genes that affect where fat is stored in the body, which affects health risk.  This is important because if the gene that influences where fat is deposited, it could help the understanding of the biology that leads to various health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.  The other paper examined the link between genes and body mass index based on height and weight.  A second study published in a different journal called Cell, also identified a genetic mutation that could be linked to obesity in humans.  This study found that patients with this mutation were at risk for health problems, and were more likely to become obese at a younger age.  With these findings researchers hope to eventually defeat obesity, and the major health problems associated with it.  They also hope to someday develop target therapies to treat the mutations that predispose humans to obesity.  More research will be done to figure out exactly how these genes function and how they make people more susceptible to obesity.

Original Article: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/02/11/studies-find-more-genetic-links-to-obesity

Additional Article: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/10/25/researchers-discover-new-gene-linked-to-obesity/

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