We traditionally refer to Fall as ‘Back to Work’ season. Well, researchers in the obesity sector have certainly ramped up their activities in the past month. At least two new studies suggest that obesity is influenced by ‘Epigenetics’…
New research suggests that risk of developing obesity may depend on
when and under what circumstances certain genes are expressed…
Both of the learned studies we’ll spotlight today explore the notion that when and under what circumstances certain genes are expressed can determine who will develop obesity and who won’t…
Obesity a neurodevelopmental disorder?
Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine say they have uncovered evidence that obesity may start with brain development ‘early in life’.
The theory revolves around the notion that early brain development, influenced by the expression of genes associated with obesity, can determine if a person will have a higher risk of developing obesity later in life. And expression of those genes can be influenced by environmental issues.
“Decades of research in humans and animal models have shown that environmental influences during critical periods of development have a major long-term impact on health and disease,” says study corresponding author Dr. Robert Waterland, of the USDA Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor. “Body weight regulation is very sensitive to such ‘developmental programming,’ but exactly how this works remains unknown.”
“Our results provide new evidence that developmental epigenetics is likely involved in both early environmental and genetic influences on obesity risk,” says study first author Dr. Harry MacKay. “Accordingly, prevention efforts targeting these developmental processes could be the key to stopping the worldwide obesity epidemic.”
There may be two or more types of obesity
Scientists at Van Andel Research Institute have identified two distinct types of obesity with physiological and molecular differences. That discovery may have lifelong consequences for health, disease and response to medication.
One obesity subtype is characterized by greater fat mass while the other was characterized by both greater fat mass and lean muscle mass. Somewhat surprisingly, the team found that the second obesity type also was associated with increased inflammation, which can elevate the risk of certain cancers and other diseases.
“Nearly two billion people worldwide are considered overweight and there are more than 600 million people with obesity. Yet we have no framework for stratifying individuals according to their more precise disease etiologies,” said J. Andrew Pospisilik, PhD., corresponding author of the study. “Using a purely data-driven approach, we see for the first time that there are at least two different metabolic subtypes of obesity, each with their own physiological and molecular features that influence health. Translating these findings into a clinically usable test could help doctors provide more precise care for patients.”
In this study, as well, epigenetics – i.e.- when and how certain genes are expressed – “underscore[s] the power of recognizing these subtle differences between people to guide more precise ways to treat disease,” says Dr. J. Andrew Pospisilik, Ph.D., corresponding author of the study
My take
I always smile and think, ‘When two completely unrelated research teams have the same idea, and get the same results when they test it, there must be something to it.” I hope that’s case with the strongly suspected connection between epigenetics and the risk of developing obesity…
~ Maggie J.