Latest FTO gene Stories

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online Two new studies appearing in this week’s edition of the journal Nature Genetics have identified new genetic links to obesity which could lead to new ways to help treat or prevent the condition. In one study, an international team of researchers identified seven new gene loci (genome regions) linked to obesity, while also demonstrating that the genetic mechanisms that cause extreme body fat are similar in nature to those that...

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Just in time for the appearance of jolly old Saint Nick at the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario have identified a gene that not only contributes to obesity, but also to a lowered risk of depression. The ‘Santa Claus gene,’ known as FTO, is a major genetic contributor to obesity and was linked to an eight percent reduction in the risk of depression, according to the...

-- CHOP Scientists Use Versatile Gene Discovery Chip to Detect Gene Variants Involved in Biology of Obesity -- PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A large international study has identified three new gene variants associated with body mass index (BMI) levels in adults. The scientific consortium, numbering approximately 200 researchers, performed a meta-analysis of 46 studies, covering gene data from nearly 109,000 adults, spanning four ethnic groups. In...

Head to head: Are the causes of obesity primarily environmental? The ongoing obesity epidemic is creating an unprecedented challenge for healthcare systems around the world, but what determines who gets fat? Two experts debate the issue on bmj.com today. Timothy Frayling, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Exeter thinks that genetic factors are the main driver for obesity in today's environment. Twin and adoption studies show consistently that variation in body mass index...

[ Watch the Video ] Connie K. Ho for RedOrbit.com Researchers from The Miriam Hospital’s Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center recently acknowledged that people who have particular “obesity genes” are more likely to eat more meals and snacks as well as consume more calories or foods high in fat and sugar. The research, found in the June 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows the differences in the fat mass and obesity-associated genes (FTO) as...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Childhood obesity has become a major issue in the United States. Research indicates that obese adolescents tend to have higher risk of mortality as adults. Although food choices and habits contribute to the increasing rates of obesity in children, a recent study identifies at least two gene variants that increase the risk of common childhood obesity. "This is the largest-ever genome-wide study of common childhood obesity, in contrast to previous studies that have...

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- When it comes to weight, new research shows your genes do not determine your fate, they can be overcome. According to new research, the genetic predisposition to obesity due to a gene called FTO can be substantially reduced by living a physically active lifestyle. The research, published in this week's version of PLoS Medicine, found that in general, carrying a copy of the FTO gene increases the risk of becoming obese. However, the effect of the gene on obesity was 27...

The genetic predisposition to obesity due to the 'fat mass and obesity associated' (FTO) gene can be substantially reduced by living a physically active lifestyle according to new research by a large international collaboration, led by Ruth Loos from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, in Cambridge, UK, and published in this week's PLoS Medicine. The researchers found that the effect of the FTO gene on obesity risk is nearly 30% weaker among physically active than in physically...

A study published in the journal Nature Genetics claims that researchers have found a gene that could be the master switch that controls the amount of fat found in the body. Controlling this gene could reduce the number of cases of obesity, diabetes and excessive cholesterol in people, Reuters reports. Since fat plays an important role in the susceptibility of people to metabolic diseases, the regulating gene could be target for drugs to treat such illnesses. Study leader Tim Spector of...

Research presented today sheds new light on the role bacteria in the digestive tract may play in obesity. The studies, which were presented at the 110th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, paint a picture that may be more complex than originally thought."Work currently underway suggests that an interaction between genetic factors and the composition of the bacteria that inhabit the human gut may predispose certain individuals towards obesity. These results...