The Link Between Genes and Obesity

At 29 I was fat, and yes I can honestly say I was definitely fat. At 5 foot 7 I weighed just under 300 pounds. So yes, that is what I consider extremely obese. I found at that point in my life that no matter how much I dieted, carefully measuring out my portions each and every day, I couldn't lose weight. But on the other hand, my friend Cindy, who weighed just 129 pounds, could eat anything and everything she wanted and not gain even a pound. I hated her. Not really but sometimes I envied her a lot. Here she was skinny and beautiful, it seemed like her whole family was skinny and beautiful. While myself, my mom, my sisters and now recently my 12 year old daughter, was very obese. I often wondered why. Was there some curse on my family. Some hereditary trait I didn't know about passed down through the generations. I didn't know it at the time but I really wasn't that far off base.

Scientists have recently discovered that there is a DNA link in obesity. Nutrigenomics is a relatively new science to study how genes interact with food. And no, they're not studying those jeans I couldn't possibly fit my size 50 self into. Their study is on the genes found inside each human person, the hereditary genes handed down through the generations. Nutrigenomics is still a relatively new program nutrigenomics that suggests that a diet personalized to you specifically will help you lose that extra weight. And coupled with advice on disease prevention may be the key you need to avoid heart disease, diabetes and arthritis. This is still an active area of research so a lot of their findings are still being studied and continually tested. Some of these studies have shown that people who have a specific type of gene may be more susceptible to fat in their diets than other people who are from a different gene pool. Other research has shown that people who are of a certain type of gene can reduce their risk of colon cancer by adding more vitamin D to their diets. Of course others in a different gene group wouldn't see the same benefits.

The studies on the hereditary effects of certain foods on certain people still have along way to go before any legitimate claims or statements can be made. But their studies are still ongoing everyday. Scientists from the Life Sciences Research Offices report that the interactions between genes are so complex and since your environment as well as several other factors contribute to your eating habits and overall health it would be really hard to make any conclusive findings that can't be disputed. However, even though the tests are not conclusive that's not stopping some biotech companies from selling their tests to consumers. All you have to do if using these tests is swab your cheek, mail it back to the lab and they will send you a detailed report on your genetic predisposition to several disease, as well as a personalized nutritional plan to help you in fighting these diseases. This test can sell for as much as $1,000. Some people would tell you to save your money. You're much better off, not to mention financially sound, walking to the store to purchase more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Relying on these iffy and expensive tests is a fools quest for answers that are never going to come. Lona Sandon, a dietician at the University Of Texas, recommended against the use of this test. She says that a good diet and exercise program will work in making anyone healthier and skinnier in the long run. A test done recently at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, suggest that low levels of HDL cholesterol and higher levels of albumin, a protein needed for tissue healing, can cause men to eat or crave more chocolate. Which leads them to believe that chocoholics have a unique metabolic profile that was different from the men tested. Which also leads them to believe that some people might be programmed genetically to love chocolate. This is the first time that a preference for a specific food has shown up on a lab test. The same thing could be true of other foods as well. After all this laboratory mumbo jumbo you may be more confused than ever, as am I. But it is nice to know that at least our preference for chocolate and doughnuts is genetically programmed into out brains and not just part of our unhealthy lifestyle choices. So next time someone says something to you when you want to eat cake for breakfast instead of the grape nuts you know you should have, tell them to mind their own business. You can't help it after all, your genes are making you do it. For information on studies being done to link genes and obesity visit www.ncbi.com or www.genesandobesity.com.