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Genetic Studies Reveal New Causes of Severe Obesity In Childhood
Filed under: In The News
DNA may be the answer to some cases of childhood obesity. Credit: ynse, Flickr
In battling the problem of childhood obesity, researchers and parents have looked to increased exercise and changes in diet for solutions. But researchers in the UK have found that in some cases, childhood obesity may be genetic.
Their study of the DNA of 300 obese children -- published online this week in the journal Nature -- turned up several examples of genetic variations, including one that keeps children from experiencing the normal sensation of being full after a meal.
Because of this absence of pieces of chromosome, these children are perpetually hungry, leading to their extreme weight problems.
These genetic variations appear to be quite rare, and don't explain the majority of obesity cases. But they do represent a crucial step in the quest to find solutions for all types of obesity. This information can also help parents whose children struggle with extreme obesity -- the kind that can get lead authorities to assume their parents aren't taking care of them.
Related: Fighting Childhood Obesity, Big Babies - Are They an Obesity Risk?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-07-2009 @ 11:25PM
Jan said...Some weight problems are gene related and some are not. We should still fix our food supply which is obviously tainted and screwing up the otherwise genetically healthy children: get rid of growth hormone from meat (banned in Europe), get rid of the corn syrup everywhere (make this sort of lobbying illegal).
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4-19-2010 @ 12:20AM
Jehnavi said...Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults.3, 4 For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years.3 Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children.5 The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.
www.womenhealthcenter.net/
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