Posted on 09/06/2007 8:49:14 AM PDT by nypokerface
DALLAS, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have determined a single "skinny gene" might alone control whether a body tends to accumulate fat.
"From worms to mammals, this gene controls fat formation," said Dr. Jonathan Graff of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the study's senior author. "It could explain why so many people struggle to lose weight and suggests an entirely new direction for developing medical treatments that address the current epidemic of diabetes and obesity."
The gene, called adipose, was discovered more than 50 years ago but its mechanism was not determined.
In the new study, researchers discovered the gene is likely a high-level "master switch" that is dose-sensitive, meaning the various combinations of its variants lead to a range of body types from slim to medium to obese.
"This is good news for potential obesity treatments, because it’s like a volume control instead of a light switch; it can be turned up or down, not just on or off," Graff said. "Eventually, of course, the idea is to develop drugs to target this system, but that’s in the years to come."
The research appears in the journal Cell Metabolism.
The obese have been whipping boys long before tobacco was “discovered”...
Most cultures surrender or conform to nature. For example leftists around the world want fat people to eat very little. So they can’t enjoy food as much, and are lethargic and tired. They also think we should give up automobiles and walk.
Some cultures, America imo near or at the top, try to play with nature’s laws to use them to our advantage. We want to enjoy foods from around the world, shipped to us in refrigerated ships.. And not have to exercise, and be a healthy body fat level.
Most cultures would say we do not ‘deserve’ to be thin without putting in the hard work. The same as they say its not ‘fair’ Americans are so rich when we don’t do 14 hours of back breaking labor a day like they do.
I could see that a gene might contribute to obesity, but it certainly isn’t the only factor. One’s chosen behavior often (not always) plays the biggest role.
High horse? Few people play the victim card more than the ‘obese and offended’.
It’s pretty simple for all involved, no matter what excuse they use:
If you find that you’re gaining weight by doing X, don’t do X. If you have trouble losing weight, get away from the keyboard or tv and take a walk.
I lost 10 lbs by doing nothing more than cutting out soft drinks and sweets. I’ve lost another 5 lbs just in a month by getting rid of cheese. Not a problem. I don’t get to eat everything I like, but I make decisions and I live with the consequences.
But hell, if you can blame genetics or something else, it makes life so much easier.
Actually the cure is not a gene but the bacteria that causes lock-jaw.
But all genes can really do is define a "baseline" of where people start if they eat whatever they feel like and exert as much or little effort as they feel like. It's a pain for those of us who tend to get fat if we eat what we like, but all it takes is knowledge and self-control. If calories out (via exercise and base metabolic rate, no matter how low that natural rate is) are greater than calories in (via eating), you will lose weight. It's not physically possible to do otherwise.
Bravo! I know people that have to exercise everyday and eat under 1000 calories a day just to maintain a “normal” weight...and I know people that eat 2000 calories a day, never exercise, and yet are thin.
In regards to gaining weight, and body metabolism...we are not all created equal.
Well, it is a “volume control,” which presumably means that we can end up looking somewhere between the guy on the left...and the guy on the right.
I had the “gene” that let me eat whatever I wanted and still stay thin.
Now that I am older, I guess that gene doesn’t work for me any more. I had to work really hard to lose the weight I wanted to lose. It was hard. But I did it. :) Extra weight is not for me!
I used to have that one. I’d scarf down whole pizzas or 4 hot dogs and fries and not even blink. Now if I try that I’d be sick, not just fat.
The best thing I did besides getting rid of the fatty foods was splitting up my meals into 4 smaller meals instead of 2 or 3 larger meals. Easier on the digestion plus it makes it possible to enjoy a wider variety of foods every day.
To this day, I’ll compensate for the days I miss working out, by running double the distance, the next day. For the days missed when I’m on vacation, I double the distance for the number of days I wouldn’t be able to run, beforehand.
At the end of the day, it’s totally worth it!
One of my best friends a pretty blonde Hungarian woman is 51 but looks like she is literally 30. 20 something guys hit on her thinking she is around their age.
She eats whatever she feels like, whenever she wants. And shes done that her whole life. She has huge energy because she eats a lot and her metabolism turns into energy. She loves chocolate like most women. Yet she never gains any weight, besides fluctuating in a 10 pound range.
She also smokes moderately!
Nature isn’t fair...actually we couldn’t have evolved if it was fair. and thats one reason so many cultures which bring concepts like ‘deserving’ and ‘fairness’ into the equation especially when in combination with anti-technological progress fail so miserably.
And neither seems the one on the left, if you take a closer look at the crotch area, lol!
If more people would consider the fact that your stomach is about the size of a tennis ball, they would realize how gross it is to shove so much food in at one time. Yuck.
Congratulations and I admire your discipline. The great thing about the benefits of physical discipline is that it definitely spurs you on in other areas of your life.
Yes, calories expended vs calories consumed is the key. What we’re increasingly learning about, however, is how the line of demarcation can change for many people.
It’s really, really a sad commentary that even on FR perfectly legitimate articles about significant biological revelations still provoke the high horse herd.
“Wow, only the second post before the fat-bashing began.”
Some people, if they haven’t experienced something under discussion, have no sympathy for it.
Are you typical or exceptional?
Read the article first and that'll kick you back into the "typical" category ~ genes are powerful little devices.
I would venture to guess that most people who have tried to lose weight and either failed or gained it all back did so because they followed advice that is utterly unworkable in the long term. They listened to the latest "fad" diets, which fundamentally all work by caloric deprivation and therefore will be successful in the short term, and basically either did or did not manage to starve themselves in the short term. If they failed, they didn't lose weight. If they succeeded, they lost fat and muscle, thus lowering their base metabolic rate, and then once they couldn't take starving themselves anymore and resumed their previous diet they gained even more weight back.
Here's a hint: there is one group of people whose hobby (or in some cases livelihood) depends partially on losing as much fat as possible and keeping it off. That group is very successful at those things. If one has the same goal, does it make sense to do what they have done for decades, or to listen to the fad of the month from fat Dr. Phil or dead Dr. Atkins?
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