Obesity is becoming an epidemic in many places. While high-calorie diets that are rich in sugar have been the main cause, the sedentary lifestyles of people have also played a huge part. Our genes too play an important part, and a new research throws light on the complex intersections of obesity, diet, and our DNA.
Sifting problem
Hundreds of genes have been identified by genomicists as associated with obesity. While these genes are more or less prevalent in people who are obese than those with a healthy weight, the difficulty has been in identifying which genes play a causal role in promoting or preventing weight gain.
Researchers from the University of Virginia have now been able to identify 14 genes that can cause obesity and three that can prevent weight gain. The findings, which have been published in the scientific journal PLOS Genetics, could lead to the development of drugs that can combat a growing health problem.
An “elegans” solution
In order to determine which genes actually play a causal role in promoting or preventing obesity, scientists turned to worms known as C. elegans. Sharing more than 70% of human genes, these worms, which have already produced great benefits for science, become obese if fed excessive sugar.
By developing a worm model of obesity and applying it to screen 293 genes associated with obesity in people, researchers were able to identify 14 genes that cause obesity and three that help prevent it.
While plenty of work still needs to be done in this field, researchers believe that the initial signs have been encouraging. The combination of human genomics with causality tests in model animals might lead to results that are more likely to succeed in clinical trials.
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