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.
If you are going to eliminate a category of food, eliminate carbohydrates.
A moment's thought before hitting "Send" sometimes does wonders.
Spoken like a true, natural, skinny person.
Right I am insane. Go sit on the couch. Your pizza is getting cold.
Spoken like a true, natural, skinny person.
My dad ate a lot all the time, including a big bowl of ice cream every night, and was always thin. My mother practically lived on cottage cheese and always tended to be chubby anyway. They’re typical examples.
So now they claim they found a gene that explains that. There’s nothing “victimizing” about what is a plain fact.
Maybe they could find a link to the fat gene and the ‘no sense of humor’ gene.
My first gene was a joke. You may have thin (or actually thick, who knows) skin and you didn’t get it. I haven’t changed since I actually started a discussion on the subject post initial joke comment.
Here’s the bottom line: The majority of people blaming genetics just don’t want to get off of their butts and exercise or change their diets. They want to eat whatever they want, sit around like they want, and wait for some magical pill to change their lives.
Could some have genetic component? Possibly. But any definitive link and hard evidence to the actual extent of it’s effect is a long way off. In the mean time, even those people can benefit from changing their diet and doing more exercise.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. You look at people who are in shape. You see them walking, riding bikes, participating in sports in their spare time. You see people who are fat, and their leisure time activities usually amount to sitting around at home, either watching tv, sitting on the computer, or waddling through the aisles at the store.
If you actually refuse to play the victim game, you might start to think that the reason the people are thin is that they chose healthy diets and activities, not that they exercise because they are thin.
But from knowing plenty of overweight people over the years, their mindset generally has been that they’re not the kind of people that exercise or eat healthy. In fact, I’ve known two that went so far as to get their stomachs stapled rather than voluntarily change their diet or become active.
But hell, that TV ain’t gonna watch itself.
Sorry for the double post. It must have been my fat fingers hitting the “post’ button twice!
Sorry -- I don't have much of a sense of humor when it comes to bloviation. You're clearly more interested in your opinion, than you are in the interesting article.
I hit my limit on about your 4th or 5th post.
That is incorrect,with all due respect...(although I know what you’re getting at,just trying to inject a little levity....)
The gene is inherently Howard Dean!!!!
Maybe you should push away from the table then.
What do you want to bet that there are some overweight people posting on this thread?
Further, of those people, would you bet that there are some of them that will spend more time reading and posting on this thread about “fat bashing” instead of actually going outside and going for a walk?
That’s my point. People make choices with their time. If they have problems losing weight, perhaps they should be making different choices. Posting on some internet forum doesn’t matter. Spending time on their health does.
And there are few people more sanctimonious than those that feel they are superior because they have not struggled with their weight.
That’s like saying there’s a gene that causes homosexualty...so it’s okay to indulge.It’s just an excuse for a lack of self-discipline. I should know....I lost 100 lbs by simply “altering” my “gene” (i.e.,making smarter choices about food and getting exercise). No one says it’s easy,especially when you come from an overweight family and have an established eating pattern over a series of decades,but the cycle can be broken,if one really,REALLY tries. I was pretty close to Gastric Bypass Surgery at one point but it didn’t get that far,thank God.
while in skinny, perfect people like this poster, the gene refuses to stop making them arrogant elitist.
And there are others who refuse to read and just like to be victims.
Honest question: Are you trying to lose weight?
so you had a weight problem?...it really shows ...sort of like an ex-smoker or ex-Catholic....not many people more self -absorbed and self-righteous in their vanity....
1) Human bodies are subject to the laws of mass and energy and the interconversion of the two, i.e. mass cannot be created without energy, and energy cannot be created without mass. E=mc2
2) The conversion of food to energy or to body fat is carried out by the body's biochemical processes. Like all chemical systems, there are varying degrees of efficiency. Some people's bodies process food (i.e. extract energy from food) more efficiently than others. If persons A & B each eat an identical bowl of ice cream, their actual net calorie gain may differ depending on their individual digestive efficiencies. This variance can account for SOME of the anecdotes that "Joe Blow can eat a ton of ice cream and never get fat"
4) However, in the absence of food all humans will starve and display an emaciated appearance. Look at pictures of concentration camp survivors or POW's from the Japanese camps in WW2. Going into the camps, you had a wide variety of peole, of all sizes, girths and metabolic efficiencies. Coming out, they were all emaciated. This proves that EVERYONE will lose weight in the face of a caloric deficiency.
5) Caloric deficiency (and the INEVITABLE weight loss that occurs, see #4 above) can be induced by:
a) restricting caloric intake (eating fewer calories)
b)increasing caloric output via exercise
c) blocking caloric processing by the body (drugs like Xenical block fat absorption in the intestines)
If you accept the above tenets (and you must, because they are all based on the laws of thermodynamics), you can arrive at the basic conclusion that body weight is a function of calorie intake times digestive efficiency, minus calorie consumption.
With that said, if you restrict calorie consumption and increase energy output, to the point were output exceeds input, you WILL lose weight.
How much weight you lose will depend on the magnitude of the deficit and will probably be a non-linear curve, i.e. you will lose weight at a different rate along the curve. Because of the variable of digestive efficiency for each person, your calorie input/output levels may need to be tweaked to lose weight, but you WILL lose it. You may have to eat less or exercise more to achieve the deficit.
The moral of the story is that no one is immune from the laws of thermodynamics. Some people will have to work harder to lose weight, but no one can say "I can't lose weight because of my metabolism/genetics." If that were true, you'd see pictures of fat people coming off the Bataan death march or coming out of Auschwitz. Be sure and post those pics if you have them.
And maybe you should stop with the stupid assumptions.
Further, of those people, would you bet that there are some of them that will spend more time reading and posting on this thread about “fat bashing” instead of actually going outside and going for a walk?
And yet, here am I, who am not fat, and who exercises regularly and vigorously, calling you a "fat basher." Not because of any particular opinions of mine, but by simple observations of the twaddle you persist in posting.
You COULD try discussing the topic of the article -- it's quite interesting. But of course, "People make choices with their time." You apparently cannot be bothered to use your time in actual thought, preferring instead to wallow in and defend dumb things you've said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.