December 12, 2008
Variant gene may drive some to eat unhealthy meals
Unable to drive past a Burger King without stopping for a Double-Whopper? It may not be a lack of willpower that's your problem. It could be in your genes.
British researchers writing in the New England Journal of Medicine say children with an unusual gene variant have a distinct characteristic — they prefer energy-dense foods, packed full of sugar and fat.
"What this effectively shows is that people with the relevant variants on the gene have a trait which may lead them to eat more unhealthy, fattening foods," said study senior author Colin Palmer, chairman of pharmacogenomics in the Biomedical Research Institute at the University of Dundee. "I would stress that this is a trait, and not an absolute occurrence."
The British researchers looked at previous studies focusing on a variant in the FTO gene that is associated with being overweight or obese. They then measured the weight and height of nearly 3,000 children in Scotland between the ages of four and ten, identifying those with changes in their FTO gene.
The children whose gene had undergone a change had higher weight and body-mass index scores.
Next the researchers watched what the children with the changed FTO gene ate. In nearly every case, the children with the variant gene consumed about 100 calories more per meal, mostly by choosing high-density foods like ham, chocolate, and cheese. All children in the study got about the same amount of daily exercise.
More than 16 percent of U.S. children are currently obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but previous research has pointed to sedentary life styles and a diet overly heavy on fast food. Palmer agrees that the easy availability of burgers and fries is probably a contributing factor.
"These findings reinforce the hypothesis that the increase in obesity seen in children over recent years may be largely attributable to the widespread availability of inexpensive and highly energy-dense foods, which may be more attractive to the large proportion of the population who carry this genetic variant," Palmer said.
This belief among health experts has resulted in a recent call by the National Bureau of Economic Research for a ban on TV ads for fast food restaurants.
