many experts believe obesity is more related to genetics than to behaviour or lifestyle.
new research from the university of virginia adds evidence to the theory that obesity has more to do with genetics than behaviour or lifestyle choices.
a study published in the peer-reviewed journal plos genetics identified 14 genes that cause obesity, and three genes that prevent weight gain. the findings represent significant progress from previous studies, said eyleen o’rourke, a professor in the university’s department of cell biology and a leader of the study.
“we know of hundreds of gene variants that are more likely to show up in individuals suffering obesity and other diseases. but ‘more likely to show up’ does not mean causing the disease,” o’rourke explained in a news release. “this uncertainty is a major barrier to exploit the power of population genomics to identify targets to treat or cure obesity.”
in an attempt to overcome the barrier of correlation vs. causation, the researchers identified 340 genes that they knew from previous studies were more likely to show up in obese people, and built a “library” of those genes. then they screened them through worms that share most of their genes — more than 70 per cent — with humans. researchers gave some of the worms a normal diet, and others an unhealthy, high-fructose diet to mimic “diet-induced obesity,” and screened the worms for those genes, using what the study described as a “high-throughput genetic screening strategy.”
sandra elia, a food addiction counsellor, talks about her life with obesity.
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after comparing their findings with other genome-wide association studies that have been performed on mice and on humans, the researchers were able to identify 14 genes that cause obesity, and three that prevent it. in the worms that were given the high-fructose diet, the three genes that “suppress” obesity also “partially suppressed the detrimental effects” of that diet. those genes also “not only prevents excessive fat accumulation in primary and ectopic fat depots but also improve the health and extends the lifespan” of the worms.
“the biological functions of most of these genes and their mammalian orthologs have not been fully elucidated,” the study says — basically, we still don’t understand why these genes exist.
o’rourke said the findings are promising for obesity treatments.
“anti-obesity therapies are urgently needed to reduce the burden of obesity in patients and the healthcare system,” she said. “we anticipate that our approach and the new genes we uncovered will accelerate the development of treatments to reduce the burden of obesity.”
the awareness, care, and treatment in obesity management (action) study surveyed attitudes toward obesity treatment from three key demographics: people living with obesity (pwo), healthcare providers (hcps) and employers.
at 36 years old i am a content marketer for a creative agency by day, busy mom of four (aged 16-6) by night. my journey as a person living with obesity began when i became pregnant with my first child.
growing up, i was slim. after i married at 20 and it turned into an abusive situation i retreated into myself and comforted myself with food, instead of taking up jogging (oh, how i wish i had, but it wasn’t a “thing” back then).
at 36 years old i am a content marketer for a creative agency by day, busy mom of four (aged 16-6) by night. my journey as a person living with obesity began when i became pregnant with my first child.
growing up, i was slim. after i married at 20 and it turned into an abusive situation i retreated into myself and comforted myself with food, instead of taking up jogging (oh, how i wish i had, but it wasn’t a “thing” back then).
today’s post comes from rebecca christensen. rebecca is a phd student in the dalla lana school of public health, epidemiology program at the university of toronto. she is also one of the current chapter representative on the oc-snp national executive.
weight bias, weight stigma and weight-based discrimination affect people of all ages and across settings, including in schools, at home, workplaces, healthcare systems and in popular media.
today’s post comes from rebecca christensen. rebecca is a phd student in the dalla lana school of public health, epidemiology program at the university of toronto. she is also one of the current chapter representative on the oc-snp national executive.
weight bias, weight stigma and weight-based discrimination affect people of all ages and across settings, including in schools, at home, workplaces, healthcare systems and in popular media.
today’s post comes from audrey st-laurent. audrey is a phd student in the department of kinesiology at laval university of quebec city. she is also the communications director of the oc-snp national executive.
i have been working in the field of obesity research, education and advocacy for over a decade. in that time, i have seen the field of obesity change significantly.
today’s post comes from audrey st-laurent. audrey is a phd student in the department of kinesiology at laval university of quebec city. she is also the communications director of the oc-snp national executive.
i have been working in the field of obesity research, education and advocacy for over a decade. in that time, i have seen the field of obesity change significantly.
our #bustthebias series is a collection of educational videos aimed to provide research and evidence-based information that clears the air on misconceptions about obesity.
canadians living with obesity face widespread weight bias and weight-based discrimination from strangers, educators, employers, health professionals, media and even friends and family.