New study on genes and obesity

"A nondescript gene that no scientist has studied before determines why some people gain more weight than others. A new study of nearly 40,000 Europeans found that people with mutations in both of their copies of the gene known as FTO are 70 percent more likely to be obese than those with regular copies of the gene. Researchers says that identifying a genetic basis for obesity could lead to novel treatments for the increasingly prevalent condition blamed for life-threatening heart disease and type 2 diabetes, among other disorders. . . Obesity is on the rise worldwide, correlated with gains in affluence. According to a recent study in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association nearly 100 million men, women and children in the U.S. alone are considered obese."

It is called FTO, not for fat-to-obese, but because it was originally studied in a mouse that had a fused toe.

No where does it say this gene makes people fat, only that if you have this gene, you may need to be more careful about your calorie intake because you'll take on weight more easily than others. I don't think I have this gene--but I have gained 100 pounds since I graduated from high school. Usually I gain about 20 pounds over a period of years and then work hard to lose it, and it slowly comes back. Diets are not difficult; keeping weight off is. We are constantly faced with groaning tables and restaurants on every corner. When I jumped about 15 pounds in two years between 2002 and 2004, I could see exactly where the scale was going, so I've "lost" it yet again. However, I know it isn't truly lost, that it is hiding behind every bag of potato chips and box of take-out pizza.

Also, the research says that ELMM is the only real solution if you have this gene--Eat Less, Move More.

Cross posted at Collecting my Thoughts.