April 19, 2019
Skinny Genes
Timothy Birdnow
Researchers have found a gene that keeps people slim. From th U.K. Telegraph:
Maybe Rashida Tlaib might want to consider this rather than going on an extreme, political diet.
At any rate, if scientists could find a way to mimic this gene with drugs, we may have a tool for losing weight other than starvation or dangerous surgical proceedures.
Don't hold your breath, though; such "weight loss pills" are probably a long, long way off. But it's nice to know that help may be on the way for those of us who suffer from chest-of-drawer syndrome (our chests have sagged right into our drawwrs).
Researchers have found a gene that keeps people slim. From th U.K. Telegraph:
The research team analysed the genetic profiles of more than half a million volunteers from the UK Biobank.
They found that around six per cent of British people with European ancestry have a particular combination which means they are more likely to avoid putting on weight regardless of their lifestyle.
Published in the journal Cell, the study focused on a gene known as MC4R which was previously identified by the same Cambridge scientists to play a role in appetite by controlling a receptor in the brain called melanocortin 4.
People who had certain variants of MC4R which disrupted this receptor tended to gain weight easily, the study found, while those who had a different combination caused the receptor to stay "switched onâ€, enjoying the opposite effect.
Participants with these variants would eat less, which probably explaining their lower weight.
The team found that people with two copies of these particular variants - one in over 1,000 people in the UK - were on average 2.5 kg lighter than people without the variants and had a 50 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Professors Sadaf Farooqi, who co-led the project, said: "This study drives home the fact that genetics plays a major role in why some people are obese - and that some people are fortunate enough to have genes that protect them from obesity.
They found that around six per cent of British people with European ancestry have a particular combination which means they are more likely to avoid putting on weight regardless of their lifestyle.
Published in the journal Cell, the study focused on a gene known as MC4R which was previously identified by the same Cambridge scientists to play a role in appetite by controlling a receptor in the brain called melanocortin 4.
People who had certain variants of MC4R which disrupted this receptor tended to gain weight easily, the study found, while those who had a different combination caused the receptor to stay "switched onâ€, enjoying the opposite effect.
Participants with these variants would eat less, which probably explaining their lower weight.
The team found that people with two copies of these particular variants - one in over 1,000 people in the UK - were on average 2.5 kg lighter than people without the variants and had a 50 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Professors Sadaf Farooqi, who co-led the project, said: "This study drives home the fact that genetics plays a major role in why some people are obese - and that some people are fortunate enough to have genes that protect them from obesity.
Maybe Rashida Tlaib might want to consider this rather than going on an extreme, political diet.
At any rate, if scientists could find a way to mimic this gene with drugs, we may have a tool for losing weight other than starvation or dangerous surgical proceedures.
Don't hold your breath, though; such "weight loss pills" are probably a long, long way off. But it's nice to know that help may be on the way for those of us who suffer from chest-of-drawer syndrome (our chests have sagged right into our drawwrs).
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
10:23 AM
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