Scientists in the UK have discovered a common gene which they believe could be responsible for obesity.
They found people with two copies of this ‘fat’ gene are almost 70% more at risk of being obese than those with none, and weigh 3kg more.
The obesity gene was identified by scientists from the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter and Oxford University.
They found 47 percent had one copy of the variant of the FTO gene and 16 percent had two copies. The gene’s effect was seen by the age of seven, they said.
The findings could explain why although two people eat the same things and do the same amount of exercise, one may struggle to lose weight more than the other.
The researchers said,
they hope knowledge of the gene’s role can lead to new ways of treating and preventing obesity and hope to look at FTO in a more diverse population.
The World Health Organisation estimated that 1.6 billion adults worldwide are overweight and at least 400 million adults are obese, according to the UN agency’s definitions. It projected that by 2015, there will be about 2.3 billion overweight adults and more than 700 million obese adults.
Obesity is recognised as a growing public health problem worldwide. Obese people are at greater risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and some cancers.
The work was funded by the Wellcome Trust, a British medical charity.
Via : BBC
