Study confirms genetic link to weight gain

Is gaining weight in your genes?

Struggling to lose weight or keep it off? Your genes may be to blame! While diet and exercise are important, new findings point to the role genetics play in people’s tendency to gain weight.

Researchers analysed genetic samples for over half a million individuals as part of the GIANT research project, which aims to identify genes that regulate human body and size. They found more than 100 locations across the genome that play roles in various obesity traits.

"The large number of genes makes it less likely that one solution to beat obesity will work for everyone..."  -  Dr Elizabeth Speliotes

"Our work clearly shows that predisposition to obesity and increased body mass index is not due to a single gene or genetic change," says senior study author Elizabeth Speliotes, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H, assistant professor of internal medicine and computational medicine and bioinformatics at the University of Michigan Health System.

"The large number of genes makes it less likely that one solution to beat obesity will work for everyone and opens the door to possible ways we could use genetic clues to help defeat obesity," she says.

Studying the genetic link to weight gain

Dr Speliotes and colleagues investigated the genetic basis of body mass index (BMI) in up to 339 224 individuals. Across the genome, which is the full set of a person's genes, they found 97 sites associated with obesity.

Once better understood, these genetic mechanisms may not only help to explain why not all of those who are obese develop related metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, but could lead to possible ways to treat obesity or prevent metabolic diseases in those who are already obese.

"Finding the genes that increase risk of obesity is only the end of the beginning," says senior author Ruth Loos, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and director of the Genetics of Obesity and related Metabolic Traits Program in the Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine.

"A major challenge now is learning about the function of these genetic variations and how they indeed increase people's susceptibility to gain weight," Loos says. "This will be the critical next step, which will require input from scientists with a range of expertise, before our new findings can be used towards targeted obesity prevention or treatment strategies."

For more health news, click here

1. Prev:How to reduce waist size
2. Next:3 Reasons DIETS ‘stop working’ and how to FIX them