Fat-Storing Gene May Trigger Obesity - AP Article

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Fat-Storing Gene May Trigger Obesity

November 13, 2000

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A thrifty gene that helped

cavemen survive food shortages

appears to be a common underlying trigger of both

obesity and diabetes,

researchers reported Monday.

German researchers said the gene apparently

prompts the body to store up fat

for later.

They said the gene could be an important

explanation of an inherited

tendency to gain weight, especially among black

people. Their work shows

that about 90 percent of blacks, 50 percent of

Asians and 30 percent of

whites carry at least one copy of this gene.

``This gene was advantageous in times of food

scarcity,'' said Dr. Achim

Gutersohn. ``But in times of driving and coach

potato-ing, it can cause

obesity.''

The links between genes, living habits and health

are of increasing interest

to researchers, and this association appears to

be especially complex in the

way people gain weight. Experts believe that

perhaps 30 or 40 genes can

increase the tendency to obesity. But these genes

operate in concert with

each other as well as with people's exercise and

dietary habits.

``This is a hint of where medicine is going -

gene and environment

interactions,'' said Dr. H. Eckel of the

University of Colorado

Health Sciences Center.

He said doctors may someday routinely look for

genes that increase the risk

of obesity, and drugs may be developed to target

specific genetic profiles.

Still, he said, people's eating and exercise

habits are probably much more

important than their genes in determining whether

they are overweight.

In fact, the German researchers found that

exercise can counteract the bad

effects of the gene studied. People who exercise

just two hours a week

appear to escape the gene's tendency to add

weight.

Everyone inherits two copies of every gene at

birth. The German group

focused on one that manufactures G proteins,

substances that carry messages

from the surface of cells into their centers. One

normal variety of this

gene is called the GNB3 825T allele.

The researchers found that people who inherit two

copies of this particular

gene type are three times more likely to be obese

than are those who get one

copy or two completely different variations of

the gene.

The gene seems to be especially important after

childbirth, when women need

to lose the weight they put on during pregnancy.

Those with two copies of

the gene were six times more likely than usual to

keep their extra pounds -

but only if they did not exercise.

Worldwide, the researchers found that about 60

percent of black people carry

two copies of the gene, compared with 20 percent

of Asians and 10 percent of

whites.

In work on young Germans, the group found that 8

percent of those who were

of normal weight carried two copies of the gene,

compared with 23 percent of

people who were obese.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights

reserved.

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