Scientists Find Fatness Gene

The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 4-13-2007 | Roger Highfield

[cherry]

there is a genetic component...if two heavy parents produce 4 kids, good chance they might also be big.....

our population has exploded in the last several decades, and chances are heavier people are more noticeable because there are MORE people period....

I will say this.....we never ate potatoe chips or had soda when we were young.....my father would bring home ginger ale and we would have it ONLY if we were sick, or if there was a celebration......

we never opened any package of food until we asked Mom if we could...not chips, not crackers, not pretzels.....

popcorn was popped on the stove....

we didn't have desserts all that much...Christmas was special because my Mom would bake cookies....

when we were little, we ate several ears of corn at supper and think nothing of it....of course we had tomato sandwiches at lunch so everything kind of evened out......

[blam]

"It is eyeopening to go to another country and see just how few porkers there are after being in the home of the brave and the land of the fat. I was in New Zealand last year."

My NZ neighbor is fat but he's been here a couple decades.

[lafroste]

FTO??

The FaTsO gene? Where do they come up with these names?

[SmoothTalker]

“our population has exploded in the last several decades, and chances are heavier people are more noticeable because there are MORE people period....”

That isn’t it though. Heavier folks are more visible because they make up a much higher percentage of the population than ever before. Just look at the numbers. Adult men are a full 25 pounds heavier on average than they were in 1960. Women are 24.3 pounds heaver on average. The average ten year old boy is ten pounds heavier as is the average ten year old girl.

http://news.ucanr.org/mediakits/Nutrition/nutritionfactsheet.shtml