A team of British scientists examined 300 people who became severely obese at a young age, to determine whether a faulty gene was involved. Researchers were looking specifically at the gene in charge of the leptin receptor. Leptin is a hormone that controls appetite and can influence how much we feel like eating. It has been previously implicated in animal obesity studies.
Scientists examined the overweight study participants to see whether this so-called fat gene was disturbed in any way. They found that only three percent of people had an abnormal leptin gene. This indicated that leptin is probably not a factor for most overweight people. Scientists in New Zealand are dispelling the common myth that obesity and being overweight is caused by bad genes.
In what has been referred to as a breakthrough discovery, scientists from Auckland University’s Liggins Institute have discovered that genetic pre-disposition to being overweight can be reversed through good nutrition in early childhood. Their research shows that when a mother is undernourished, her child’s body is pre-set to cope with a life of scarcity. The energy-dense fast food diet of the Western world results in children who are likely to become fat and sometimes obese.
In lab exams, newborn offspring from both well-fed and undernourished rats were given leptin, a hormone that signals to the body when it has eaten an adequate amount. When they became adults, the long-term effects were calculated by looking at genes that regulate metabolism in the liver. Rats from well-fed mothers reacted to leptin in the opposite way to those from malnourished moms.
The researchers urge mothers to eat a more balanced diet. This includes the right amounts of protein and vitamins during pregnancy. It has been found though that if the fetus is undernourished in the womb, the long-term effects can still be corrected through good nutrition.
So what’s the final word on all of these finding. Is it our genes that make us easily gain weight which leads to becoming overweight or even obese or is it our behavior that shapes (and sculpts) our bodies? The most likely correct answer is: BOTH. You are born with a set of genes you cannot change. Some people can eat and eat and never gain a pound. Others can’t. But as the recent research is showing – you have much more control over the final outcome than most people are willing to take credit for. No matter your genetic make-up, you can choose to eat properly and exercise. To find out more health advice, visit New Century Spine Centers in San Diego.
