Although there's often been talk about a so-called obesity genetic disposition, very little has been studied on the matter to deepen in the subject, though now there's been a breakthrough in regards of how exactly genetics affect a person's tendency towards obesity.
Seeing as the obesity epidemic takes its toll on the population (with millions of men, women and children suffering from the illness in the US and abroad), many studies have been made in regards of the obesity genetic disposition, as scientists wonder what percentage of the disease is linked to eating an unhealthy diet and how much is marked by a tendency straight from our genetic codes.
According to Science Daily, the newest findings regarding the obesity genetic disposition were published recently in the scientific journal Nature, under two papers: "Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology" and "New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution," two linked investigations from the University of Michigan Health System, including cross-campus findings in the different departments, ranging from Human Genetics to even Internal Medicine, all of whom contributed to the findings.
As The Verge reports, the newest findings regarding obesity's genetic disposition have made a link between different newly discovered regions of our genetic code to BMI (body mass index) and fat distribution, something that could have a potentially large impact on the way obesity is studied from now on, and even the way it's looked at scientifically.
According to website Diabetes.co.uk, the obesity genetic disposition studies found there are 97 different gene variations that could affect a person's tendency towards developing obesity at some point; these genes, however, will often affect appetite and not metabolism.
In other words, it turns out that, for some people, there's a genetic tendency towards eating more.
"Looking at obesity, we didn't necessarily expect to see genes that work in the brain," said Elizabeth Speliotes, one of the leading authors of the obesity genetic disposition study, to The Guardian. "In retrospect it's not that surprising that appetite and feeding pathways have a big role."
