Researchers have found a ‘clear genetic trigger for obesity’ that applies to some people – CTV
June 24, 2024
Obesity isn’t just a matter of food and exercise — it may be in your genetic code, according to new research.
“Obesity’s causes are very complex and in the majority of cases, the combination of many factors. In this study, however, we found a clear genetic trigger for obesity,” said lead study author Dr. Mattia Frontini, British Heart Foundation senior fellow and an associate professor in cellular biology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, in an email.
Researchers used data from the U.K. Biobank, a large biomedical database and research resource that follows people long-term, according to the study published Thursday(opens in a new tab) in the journal Med. They compared data from people with two faulty copies of a particular gene (SMIM1) and those who did not have the two faulty copies.
Women with the gene mutation weighed an extra 4.6 kilograms (10.14 pounds), and men with the variant weighed an extra 2.4 kilograms (5.29 pounds), according to the study.
