Weight loss obesity gene discovered; Good or Bad?

According to the World Health organization, there are about 2 billion people all over the world who are obese or overweight. Obesity has been linked to many health problems including diabetes, cancer and heart diseases. For many years scientists and researches have strived very hard to find what causes obesity. In the last few years, numerous studies have resulted to one conclusion: obesity has a genetic predisposition.

In the United Kingdom, a research team has published its discovery of a common gene variant, which could be the reason for being overweight or obese. The research team, led by Dr, Andrew Hattersley of the Peninsula Medical School, published the discovery in the journal, Science.

The study involved 2,000 individuals with diabetes and researchers observed that the common gene variant, known as FTO, is linked to the body mass index (BMI) . To verify their observation, another study that involved 38,759 individuals was conducted. They discovered that an individual with the FTO gene is likely to weigh 1.2 kilos more than someone who does not possess the FTO variant. A person can even have two copies of the gene and weigh 3 kilos more.

Although the study has helped experts understand obesity better, it does not exclude the environment and lifestyle as major contributors. Experts still acknowledge that diet, supplements, and physical activity can increase or decrease a person’s obesity risk. The discovery of the obesity gene has already triggered more studies and researches. The treatment of obesity by genetic engineering and manipulation will surely be explored. A lot of pharmaceutical companies will also try to manufacture new weight control/loss drugs based on this discovery.

If you are among these people who are obese or overweight, you should not think that the discovery of the obesity gene is an excuse for not trying to lose weight. Individuals at risk should understand that giving up the battle against obesity because of the discovery of the obesity gene will cause more harm than good. For starters, you would be likely to develop hypertension and type II diabetes.

Instead, it should be a good reason to take better care of yourself and your children. As mentioned earlier, the obesity gene is not solely responsible for your weight problems. You must scrutinize your eating habits and exercise regimes as well.

As a family, you should make a conscious decision to help each other out. If there are children, you should encourage them to eat healthy and engage in sports as early as possible. Discuss possible weight loss or control programs and if necessary, consult professionals. They could work with you and come up with a custom-made program that could address weight problems.

When you think about it, the discovery of the obesity gene has also improved the way people see this health problem. It will no longer be a case of eating too much and bad lifestyle. Most importantly, it paves the way for the treatment of the many disease linked to obesity.