Scientists have found more than 30 new different genes linked to obesity and fat in a research they say could help explain why some people get overweight, and why some are pear shaped and some shaped like apple.
An international team of more than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions said their findings give more insight into the biological processes that can lead to obesity and may help in developing new ways to treat or obstruct it in the future.
But they said that while genes do play a role in weight and obesity problems, they assured that they account for only a part of the reason people are overweight with the main culprits being a bad diet and deficiency of exercise.
"We should not forget that, while the genetic contribution to obesity is essential, a large fraction of obesity susceptibility remains down to our lifestyle," said Ruth Loos of the Medical Research Council's Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, who also worked on the research.
In the first of two studies published in the journal Nature Genetics, the scientists identified 13 new gene regions where variations in DNA succession can be related to whether a person is are pear-shaped or apple-shaped. "Most of these variations have a noticeably stronger impact in women than in men", they said.
Apples and pears
"where we store fat in our bodies can affect our health" previous studies have found this. More fat around the waist -- being apple-shaped -- is linked with an increased danger of type 2 diabetes and heart sicknesses, while having a fat bum and thighs -- being pear-shaped -- has been suggested in some research to offer some preservation against diabetes and high blood pressure.
"By finding genes that have an important role in affecting whether we are apple-shaped or pear-shaped, and the ways in which that differs between women and men, we hope to home in on the critical underlying biological processes," said Cecilia Lindgren of Oxford University, who worked on both studies.
"As efforts to treat obesity through changes in lifestyle or by various medication options have proved exceedingly challenging, the potential to alter types of fat distribution may offer an alternative for future drug discovery."
The second study looked for genes connected to body mass index (BMI) -- a weight-to-height ratio measure used to sort whether adults are obese or overweight. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is overweight and a BMI of 30 or over is obese.
the researchers found 18 new genetic regions linked to BMI, more than doubling the DNA variants found so far to 32 by using about 250,000 people in a genome wide association study -- which involves scanning entire gene maps for DNA clues --
Some of the new results suggest the involvement of genes active in the brain that affect appetite, they said, and some suggest genes involved in controlling insulin and metabolism.
The study also found that people who inherit many of the BMI-increasing DNA variants from their parents weigh between seven and in kilograms more than those who inherit few of the variants.
And some scientists wrote that this difference in weight is only because to the fact that they differ genetically.
An international team of more than 400 scientists from 280 research institutions said their findings give more insight into the biological processes that can lead to obesity and may help in developing new ways to treat or obstruct it in the future.
But they said that while genes do play a role in weight and obesity problems, they assured that they account for only a part of the reason people are overweight with the main culprits being a bad diet and deficiency of exercise.
"We should not forget that, while the genetic contribution to obesity is essential, a large fraction of obesity susceptibility remains down to our lifestyle," said Ruth Loos of the Medical Research Council's Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, who also worked on the research.
In the first of two studies published in the journal Nature Genetics, the scientists identified 13 new gene regions where variations in DNA succession can be related to whether a person is are pear-shaped or apple-shaped. "Most of these variations have a noticeably stronger impact in women than in men", they said.
Apples and pears
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| Healthy discoveries |
"By finding genes that have an important role in affecting whether we are apple-shaped or pear-shaped, and the ways in which that differs between women and men, we hope to home in on the critical underlying biological processes," said Cecilia Lindgren of Oxford University, who worked on both studies.
"As efforts to treat obesity through changes in lifestyle or by various medication options have proved exceedingly challenging, the potential to alter types of fat distribution may offer an alternative for future drug discovery."
The second study looked for genes connected to body mass index (BMI) -- a weight-to-height ratio measure used to sort whether adults are obese or overweight. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is overweight and a BMI of 30 or over is obese.
the researchers found 18 new genetic regions linked to BMI, more than doubling the DNA variants found so far to 32 by using about 250,000 people in a genome wide association study -- which involves scanning entire gene maps for DNA clues --
Some of the new results suggest the involvement of genes active in the brain that affect appetite, they said, and some suggest genes involved in controlling insulin and metabolism.
The study also found that people who inherit many of the BMI-increasing DNA variants from their parents weigh between seven and in kilograms more than those who inherit few of the variants.
And some scientists wrote that this difference in weight is only because to the fact that they differ genetically.
"These two studies are the beginning of new insights into to biology of obesity and body shape, which in turn may lead to more targeted approaches to obesity prevention and maybe to the development of new drugs," Loos said.
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