DIET&FITNESS Published February12, 2015 By Staff Reporter

A More Comprehensive Study Suggests Obesity May Be in the Genes

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Bloomberg Speaks At Opening Of New York Genome Center
(Photo : Andrew Burton | Getty Images News)

The University of Michigan Health Systems along with other universities is conducting what is currently the biggest genome study in relation to obesity.

And the more we learn about their discovery, the more we are inclined to believe that genes can certainly influence a person's obesity risk.

Obesity is no longer merely putting on pounds. It is already a metabolic disorder characterized by having an excessive amount of fat. A person with clinical obesity has a very high body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and waist circumference.

While not all fats in the body are dangerous-some are sebaceous or under the skin-belly fat or visceral obesity increases the risk of disorders such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease since this type of fat is active. It also disrupts hormone production and control.

To gain a better understanding of the enemy, researchers are now looking into genomes, which contain complete genes of a person. One of these projects is called GIANT, which already has more than 450,000 gene samples. This initiative aims to identify genes that are responsible for human body development and size.

They discovered that at least 95 regions of the genome may have an important role to play in body size, more than what was previously known.

Moreover, they have learned the central nervous system may have a link between BMI and a person's predisposition to obesity. Nerve signals, after all, are necessary to determine hunger or degree of appetite.  

The researchers have to do more work. For example, they have to know how these genes influence body size and increase the risk of obesity.

Nevertheless, it is getting clearer that when it comes to obesity, there Is no one-size-fits-all solution and that the treatment should seriously consider or even be customized to the body composition of the person. 

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