{"id":10460,"date":"2024-08-21T18:28:19","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T11:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10460"},"modified":"2024-08-21T18:28:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T11:28:19","slug":"what-is-the-role-of-our-genes-in-the-obesity-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=10460","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Role of Our Genes in the Obesity Epidemic?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The \u201cfat gene\u201d accounts for less than 1 percent of the differences in size between people. <\/p>\n<p>To date, about a hundred genetic markers have been <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25673413\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linked<\/a> to obesity, but when you put them all together, overall, they account for less than 3 percent of the difference in body mass index (BMI) between people. You may have heard about the \u201cfat gene,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24247219\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> FTO, short for FaT mass and Obesity-associated). It\u2019s the gene most strongly linked to obesity, but it explains less than 1 percent of the difference in BMI between people, a mere 0.34 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As I discuss in my video <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-genes-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Role of Genes in the Obesity Epidemic<\/a><\/strong>, FTO <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23867619\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">codes<\/a> for a brain protein that appears to affect our appetite. Are you one of the billion people who <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22649359\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">carry<\/a> the FTO susceptibility genes? It doesn\u2019t matter because it only appears to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27650604\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">result<\/a> in a difference in intake of a few hundred extra calories a year. The energy imbalance that <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/21872751\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">led<\/a> to the obesity epidemic is on the order of hundreds of calories a day, and that\u2019s the gene <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/24247219\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">known<\/a> so far to have the most effect. The chances of accurately predicting obesity risk based on FTO status is \u201conly slightly better than tossing a coin.\u201d In other words, no, those genes don\u2019t make you look fat.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to obesity, the power of our genes is nothing compared to the power of our fork. Even the small influence the FTO gene does have <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22069379\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">appears<\/a> to be weaker among those who are physically active and may be <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22049296\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">abolished<\/a> completely in those eating healthier diets. FTO only appears to affect those eating diets higher in saturated fat, which is predominantly found in meat, dairy, and junk food. Those eating more healthfully appear to be at no greater risk of weight gain, even if they inherited the \u201cfat gene\u201d from both of their parents.<\/p>\n<p>Physiologically, FTO gene status does not appear to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/27650503\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">affect<\/a> our ability to lose weight. Psychologically, <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28381478\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">knowing<\/a> we\u2019re at increased genetic risk for obesity may motivate some people to eat and live more healthfully, but it may <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/22030987\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cause<\/a> others to fatalistically throw their hands up in the air and resign themselves to thinking that it just runs in their family, as you can see in the graph below and at 2:11 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-genes-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>. Obesity does tend to run in families, but so do lousy diets.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108011\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2-11-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Comparing the weight of biological versus adopted children can help <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25698215\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tease<\/a> out the contributions of lifestyles versus genetics. Children <a href=\"https:\/\/cep.lse.ac.uk\/pubs\/download\/dp1324.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">growing<\/a> up with two overweight biological parents were found to be 27 percent more likely to be overweight themselves, whereas adopted children placed in a home with two overweight parents were 21 percent more likely to be overweight. So, genetics do play a role, but this suggests that it\u2019s more the children\u2019s environment than their DNA.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most dramatic examples of the power of diet over DNA <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/2031485\/\">comes<\/a> from the Pima Indians of Arizona. As you can see in the graph below and at 3:05 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-genes-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video<\/a>, they not only <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/2031485\/\">have<\/a> among the highest rates of obesity, but they also <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/2192853\/\">have<\/a> the highest rates of diabetes in the world. This has been <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/8422781\/\">ascribed<\/a> to their relatively fuel-efficient genetic makeup. Their propensity to store calories may have served them well in times of scarcity when they were living off of corn, beans, and squash, but when the area became \u201csettled,\u201d their source of water, the Gila River, was diverted upstream. Those who survived the ensuing famine had to abandon their traditional diet to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/8422813\/\">live<\/a> off of government food programs and chronic disease rates skyrocketed. Same genes, but different diet, different result.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108013\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-05-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In fact, a natural experiment was <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/16873794\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">set<\/a> up. The Pima living over the border in Mexico come from the same genetic pool but were able to maintain more of their traditional lifestyle, sticking with their main staples of beans, wheat flour tortillas, and potatoes. Same genes, but seven times less obesity and about four times less diabetes. You can see those graphs below and at 3:58 and 4:02 in my <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-genes-in-the-obesity-epidemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>video<\/strong><\/a>. Genes may load the gun, but diet pulls the trigger.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108015\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/3-58-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-108017\" src=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02.png 1920w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-960x540.png 960w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-480x270.png 480w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-1200x675.png 1200w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-720x405.png 720w, https:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/4-02-540x304.png 540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Of course, it\u2019s not our genes! Our genes didn\u2019t suddenly change 40 years ago. At the same time, though, in a certain sense, it could be thought of as all in our genes. That\u2019s the topic of my next video <a href=\"http:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-thrifty-gene-theory-survival-of-the-fattest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The Thrifty Gene Theory: Survival of the Fattest<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This is the second in an 11-video series on the obesity epidemic. If you missed the first one, check out <a href=\"http:\/\/nutritionfacts.org\/video\/the-role-of-diet-vs-exercise-in-the-obesity-epidemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The Role of Diet vs. Exercise in the Obesity Epidemic<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"et_social_bottom_trigger\"\/>  <\/div>\n<p><script>\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n            if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n            n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n            t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n            s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '1582627921973608');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1675549\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The \u201cfat gene\u201d accounts for less than 1 percent of the differences in size between people. To date, about a hundred genetic markers have been linked to obesity, but when you put them all together, overall, they account for less than 3 percent of the difference in body mass index (BMI) between people. You may &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}