Researchers at Oxford university have found a direct connection between the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene and increased body weight. Scientists bred mice with an extra copies of the FTO gene and found that these mice, although they were healthy ate more and put on more weight that those without the extra genes. This has supported the 2007 finding that the FTO gene is linked to the likelihood of obesity in humans.
The researchers are now confident that the FTO gene is important and contributes to obesity. There can now be research into various drug therapies which hope to work by turning down the effect of the FTO genes in an anti-obesity pill, however there is no certainty that this will be a success, it is an exciting prospect.
If having this gene predisposes individuals to put on weight and eat more, can we justify thinking that obesity is a seft inflicted illness?
The Daily Telegraph 15th Nov
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