Our biology (i.e. genetics) is still that of a hunter-gatherer. It is designed to use food with maximum efficiency and store extra calories as fat in our hips and bellies when there is plenty to gather and hunt. Stored food (fat) is used when resources for hunting and gathering are scarce. This means that any extra pounds put on would be gone by the time the next season of hunting and gathering arrived.
After agriculture started 10,000 years or so ago, people still spent much time and energy to produce food such that calories expended to produce and prepare food were equal to calories gained. It was a zero-sum game for average person with no possibility for being overweight or obese. We do not need to go that far back. Take a look at pictures taken in streets, factory floors, political rallies, stadiums and beaches 60-100 years ago. How many overweight/obese people do you see? Clearly, those normal/slim people were not starving; they were more physically active than we are today, and they did not have access to ready-to-eat prepared and processed food anytime and anywhere. There is no measurable genetic difference between us and the people who lived 60-100 years ago. However, there is tremendous environmental or lifestyle difference. Our current environment discourages spending calories and encourages ingesting and storing calories. There is food everywhere for us to eat as much as we want and as long as we want. Do we need scientists to tell us why we are fat?
79
Environment matters. How much of what type of food is available and the typical pattern of eating. Our knowledge about how to change this to our benefit. What social expectations and pressures you are exposed to. Genes matter. Maybe with time the benefits of the "right" genes will be available to all of us. Regular moderate exercise is important. Self control probably plays a small role. And it's important not to develop medical conditions which affect weight. Much of this is out of our control.
5
This is a possible explanation for what seems like a small percentage of people who are over - or under - weight, but it is a lot of people in absolute terms. I wonder if this group might also explain those who are the most severely obese.
It suggests that research might lead to ways of triggering satiety, without the danger of rising blood pressure or increasing risks of heart disease which were side effect of the crude drugs that have been used in the past.
Why do so many seem to get angry upon reading that overeating can be related to how we are put together: what genetic information is expressed? It is hard to lose weight and keep it off, and while a number of companies and famous people have made fortunes promising weight loss to wave after wave of desperate people, in reality we still do not have any foolproof approaches.
33
For everyone calling on "willpower": Our environment and lifestyle is obesogenic. It overwhelms our will power. So many people are trying to lose weight and they feel ashamed and like failures because it is nearly impossible for most. That is not the lack of will power, it is the lack of political will to address the grip that food marketers and unhealthy social structures have on our waist lines.
48
Watch the obesity epidemic soar as MJ becomes legal.
12
While the findings may be accurate, this study will be used as one more reason that many people want to think their problems are not their fault. The genetic mutation is rare, obesity is not.
47
There is a lot of hype about polygenic risk scores and it is bound to last until it will become clear that they are not helpful to patients and public health. At least for the time being.
8
These findings are a piece of a complex puzzle. Anyone with a background in the biological sciences has known that ideas of "will power" are simply a secondary reflection of some kind of physiological function and part of complicated dynamics between the biology of the brain and the body. We will can imagine the development of helpful interventions at any number of junctures in the expansive pathways that govern appetite, digestion and weight regulation. Weight control was never simplistic or only about calvinist willpower and management of behavior, a naive construct pushed by those with little understanding of science but a big sense of moral superiority.
54
High fructose corn syrup is in just about everything these days. HFCS affects glucose, insulin, grehlin, and leptin.
A diet of HFCS is one reason for the explosion of obesity; people who consume it regularly are not only ingesting the empty calories, they are sabotaging any effort they might make to lose weight.
34
There has also been a shift to more carbs and less protein.
15
While these findings can be helpful in understanding rare genetic conditions, eating too much and not exercising enough is the reason for an average weight gain of 1 pound every 2 years in the 21st century. Combine that with data from previous decades and you will find that the average American is 30 pounds heavier compared to 55 years before (2015 vs. 1960). That is the result of lifestyle, not genetics.
I quote from the National Health Statistics Report:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr122-508.pdf
"A previous report using NHANES data showed an overall increase in mean weight, height, and BMI from 1960–1962 through 1999–2002. On average, both men and women gained more than 24 pounds between 1960 and 2002. During the same time, height increased approximately 1 inch. The current report provides updated data on trends in weight, height, waist circumference, and BMI from 1999–2000 through 2015–2016, showing an increase of over 8 pounds in men and 7 pounds in women over this time period and overall, no increase in height."
29
@Dan M and not to labour the point but genetics is what determines why some get obese and others don’t in thus environment. We accept that height is genetic. Weight is no different.
30
@Tony Merriman I exercise 30-60 minutes, 6 days a week. Moderate to aerobically, and it has no effect on my weight. The only thing that works is a low-cal controlled diet, adhered to diligently. Note: in 4th grade I weighed over 100 lbs.
28
But those factors explain only a small percentage of cases. The rest is behaviour.
12
I'll never forget when my mom and I took a tour bus from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. When we arrived at the terminal they provided us with a bagged breakfast of yogurt, fruits, a granola bar, and juice. After we left we made two stops, one at McDonald's and one at a gas station with a Subway for people who didn't like McDonald's. Then before we arrived we stopped for a buffet lunch. Once we got to the Grand Canyon we got about an hour there before we had to head back. I can't help thinking if eating and food wasn't such a focus of this trip that we could have spent more time at the Grand Canyon. I come from a family of bird eaters. We have small appetites and are all thin. We eat slow and pay attention to body cues that tell us to stop.
26
As someone who has always been naturally thin, I have to point out that heavier people dont corner the market on smug attacks against them due to their weight. I can't count how many times women who dont even know me decide at first glance that I'm a slutty snob just because I'm thin. I'm not going to apologize for my weight, as you shouldn't apologize for yours.
83
Genetics vs. willpower is a false dichotomy. There are many other factors which figure into the obesity epidemic.
In previous writings, Kolata has been a "calorie-counting only strict constructionist". Now it sounds like she is recognizing the primary role of hunger and satiety.
Lots of things figure into hunger/satiety, independent of calories: nutritional quality of the food, hormonal systems, sleep, stress levels, addictive qualities of some foods, exercise, previous health and weight loss history.
28
I had an eye opening experience years back. I tried a weight loss drug called Meridia. I was not expecting much, if any, real results. But it was like a light switch being flipped in my head. I just stopped thinking about food thru the day. I ate a meal and half way thru I was done. No more hunger. No more urge to eat.
Leave a person in the desert and they will think about water endlessly. Put water in front of them and ask them not to drink and they will not be able to resist. For some of us with obesity that is what it is like. There is a nearly constant internal drive to eat. When I experienced life without that drive being overly ramped up (due to the Meridia)...WOW. Now I understand how people can eat a body-healthy portion and then be done. It's because their brain tells them that it's the time to stop. They FEEL the NEED to stop.
Unfortunately, Meridia had "responders and non-responders." I took of 30lbs and kept it off without effort for the 4 yrs I was on it. This after a literal lifetime of endless weight battles. Meridia was removed from the US market due to studies of questionable quality. It can still be found in other countries. Once I was off the Meridia my appetite and drive to eat resumed. My weight battle resumed its previous inexorable trend as it does for the vast majority of us weighty folks.
The point is the experience. Appetite ON then OFF. Due to a drug hitting the right note. ? are phthalates activating some of these obesogenic genetic variants?
128
Genetics have more to do with our cravings, our personality, and our prevalence for certain diseases (addiction being a disease) than most want to admit. It's time to stop shaming those that are deemed obese, addicted, or less out-going than others. These times where it's somehow okay to judge others must stop.
44
"Two new studies confirm that weight control is often the result of genetics, not willpower."
In other words, for the 94% of the people who don't have the appetite-dulling mutation, their weight is a matter of willpower.
Also, 6% does not an "often" make.
Extremely misleading.
23
@Miss ABC You were not misled. The MC4R mutations were a single gene with strong effect. In the 94% without the mutation the multitude of small effect genes are doing the equivalent. To state that willpower is the only factor in the 94% is very very wrong of you.
34
Elementary children like math class because correct answers get candy rewards. Breakfast cereal with three kinds of sugar in the top five ingredients has a bright banner on the box, “With All The Goodness.” There is snack time at 10:45 and lunch at noon. And nary a carrot in sight.
We are poisoning the next generation by presenting addictive processed foods as core diet components, and constant satiety as normal, and a hunger pang as in need of instant sugaring. The diabetes drug industry has captured their next generation of clients. The conflation of sugar with goodness is obscene.
41
Where is the evidence that genetic alteration has been increasing during the past 40 years?
26
@Ted chyn Right on!l Just look at photographs of groups of adults -- especially women -- from sixty or seventy years ago. Food was relatively much more expensive, so 'portion control' was a matter not of will power, but necessity. Daily living required much more activity. Yes, there was some 'middle-aged spread' and an occasional person who was obese, but nothing like the present epidemic.
25
This cadaverous MC4R nonagenarian gains weight when medicating isolation w/pastry, but serum indices & CVP readings still same as 11th-Airborne phase [1953-54]. Virtue plays no part in such fenomena.
6
I'm lost here. 6% have MC4R turned off and 6% turned on. What about the other 88%? The article reads as if there is a continuum of risk scores, but no explanation or evidence is presented to substantiate that.
13
As data piles up, it is becoming increasingly clear that so many factors outside the average person's control play a role in obesity, so much so that telling a fat person to use "willpower" to get thin is about as smart and effective as telling a short person to use willpower to be taller.
Yet I doubt this or any other story will make one iota of difference in most Americans' views. As the great voice of American dissent, HL Mencken once said, "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." America has always had an infatuation with the mythology of willpower, self reliance, and self denial. Bad things don't happen to good people, and if you're fat it means you didn't work hard enough, and you were weak.
So diet and exercise fueled by willpower it shall be! The obesity epidemic will only get worse, but at least the wallets of the folks in the diet & exercise industrial complex will get fat along with us.
51
Looks like another "scientific study" to accept very overweight people as victims of nature like people who are afflicted with cancer, heart disease, or any other type of malady thru no fault of their own.
They is a big difference between shaming overweight people and promoting them.
The bottom line is that with the few true uncommon glandular, genetic or whatever you want to call them, if you want to lose weight you will, if not you won't. It's harder for some than others but with the exception above, one can do it is they want. It has been done countless times.
As mentioned the right policy is neither to shame or promote overweight people. If you shame them, you hurt their chances of losing weight and if you promote them, you are gonna get more overweight people.
It is not a crime to be overweight. However you are much more likely to have medical problems like diabetes, bad backs, knees, feet etc, etc.
Also don't expect normal weight people to associate with you outside normal business since you will be obsessing about eating 24/7.
Also, society gets the bill with insurance rates when you end up with constant medical problems.
14
Finally an answer to my struggle with food. As a child I never felt hungry and naturally this was hard on my parents..I was not anorexic,I thought I looked too thin, boney and learned to force myself to eat.. My birthday wish when growing up was that this would be the year I would start eating normally.
. When i went through menopause I did gain weight but I have never been overweight.
When I tell my Physicians this they assume I'm just another nutty female.I do have undiagnosed digestive disorders. I still rarely feel hunger but now know what that sensation feels like.
Thankyou, wonderful to have an explanation .
22
Aw. Does this mean we can’t play the blame game anymore? No fun!
13
@Stephen Reichard Obviously not - check out the rest of these comments.
24
My kids have struggled with obesity and poor diet choices a long time despite my efforts to lead them in the right direction.
Now as adults they yo-yo in size.
One went from a size 18 down to size 6 and ran a marathon. Then she married a small man of 5 ft. 6 “ and in less than a year ballooned up to size 16 and is now totally immersed in the “ Body Positive “
Cult started by obese models about 10 years ago and is now a thriving market of books and merchandise and conferences.
I cannot reach them. It is sad to see them so unhealthy and unsightly in clothes and bathing suits. The moment I try to suggest weight watchers programs or gym time they say I have a negative bias about fat people. Both have polycystic ovarian syndrome which runs in my family. So this obesity will effect their futures.
Has anyone familiar with this movement in the commenter section noticed my impressions as well.
Nutrition is a science and calories are bottom line for weight loss. Yet we form into pretzels figuratively to resist weight loss as part of the healthy lifestyles and call that resistance revelation and freedom.
The Body Positive Movement is a crock!
IMHO
18
Hmm, I only know I would be really upset if my mother spoke of me in terms of what size I wore and how unsightly I looked. Not a particularly good relationship building tack.
58
@nurseJacki@ As someone who works in obesity prevention and is also a daughter and mother, I say "butt out." Leave your kids alone. They don't need your pressure on top of everything else. If someone is yo-yo -ing, that means weight loss is very hard for them. Your daughter lost weight after training for a marathon--which tells me she has to work exceptionally hard to maintain a lower weight. That may not be how she wants to spend her life. Obesity is only one part of disease risk. There are so many others that she can control. Connected and supportive parenting will benefit your children's health far more than your harangues about weight loss.
70
This is a ridiculous presentation of this paper. In point of fact, this is the result of retrospective data mining looking for any pattern rather then prospectively studying these people. It tells us little actually, but points toward something to study going forwards.
People get obese due to caloric excess. It's not complicated.
8
@RIO yes a caloric excess but driven by biologically-driven hunger. THAT is the point of the article.
34
Apparently LPT has never seen a Rubens.
8
There is an inbred strain of obese mice. Their weight can be kept normal by feeding them less. So, weight control is the result of genetics AND willpower.
4
@turbot
Not quite clear.Their weight is kept in a normal range because they are given less food than they would ingest given unfettered access. Their mitigated access was controlled by an external power, not some internal "will power." That's not willpower, its a forced controlled situation, that genetics cannot supercede. Not realistic for real human beings. And I always contend that there is no such thing as willpower, but an alignment of physiology with the environment cues that influence that biology and induce a behavior that only looks intentional and controlled. Willpower or the lack thereof is what biology looks like in action.
19
The poor mice: hungry all the time.
20
The title and tone of the article really disappointed me coming from the New York Times. 6 percent of severely obese children have this gene. Extrapolating this figure to the overall population would render this as a statistical anomaly in a world where most Adults are overweight or obese. You may be exposing a reason a very small group of people are obese but nothing in this article challenges the fact that sedentary lifestyles and poor diet are the only likely causal factor leading to obesity rates in the majority of people.
7
@Carlos wrong. The rest of the article described a second study that explained the genetics of obesity in the 94%
6
Some naturally thin people have extra brown fat. Google it.
4
There is a single simple question raised by many comment writers that researchers either do not address or that are not addressed in articles like this one by Gina Kolata.
If you have lived as long as I have, 87 so far, you cannot see in family pictures, pictures taken at beaches, and in many other settings people with the extreme obesity now common.
So the question in simple form is: Why do so many older people and so many photograph albums fail to remember or show obese people with the frequency and BMIs now commonplace.
The detailed genetic makeup of families or individuals did change with time and it is well worth knowing that genome details do contribute to individuals' potential to have high BMI but perhaps the next time Gina Kolata writes a similar article she could pose our questions.
Or better yet, she and the researchers could do as genome expert David Reich did. People raised questions and he answered them and in doing so he actually modified some of his too simple statements in the first article.
I have family pictures going back to my great grandparents time and nobody appears in those with markedly high BMI.
How about it Gina Kolata? Enlist families with access to family photographs over time and analyze.
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Citizen US SE
14
Hmm. I'm not hungry all of the time, but I am heavy. Always have been. Not by a lot though - thirty or so pounds. I'd rather be thin, but I am not built for it. I would look starved (and have when I did diet) if I was at my "ideal" weight.
The thing is, I love food. I'm not a glutton by any means, but I eat what I want to and I am not going to apologize for it. No, I can't pass on some chocolate or a good sandwich. I deny myself ice cream unless it's near my birthday. I can live without it. I'm not big on steak either. Other than that and pure sugary snacks, I eat what comes natural - real butter and ham off the bone.
In short, I would rather live a shorter, full life than a longer one of self denial and misery. Now, I gotta just work on snacking before bedtime and I can drop a few pounds...
Nah. Genetics be damned.
10
@WillyD
Honey, I'm with you. I'm just a little overweight - all my life, because I want those few yummy things. Not to excess, but not to be denied totally either!
7
Crispr, here I come!
10
In my opinion, people are fat today because we have gotten so far away from cooking for ourselves. I'm currently am losing weight on a diet plan that allows me a range of 1800-2000 calories a day, plus a lot of working out. I'm almost never hungry or low energy. I also feel like I'm eating more than ever. For me, the factor that is making this effective is the macros on the meals pretty much mean I must prepare all the food I eat from whole foods- a meal might be chicken, sweet potato and avocado.
I do try and eat out, but generally really struggle to meet any meals that hit those macros (usually to low in protein, and way too high in either fat or carbs).
Our society is basically people eating out and drinking, and there really is no way for most people to dine out, have a drink and be consuming a maintenance level of calories unless they stay very aware on portion size.
17
This article is a little overblown. Of course there's variation in appetite among individuals. Anyone who's ever owned pets knows that some animals would eat all day, others pick at food. Same with humans. But so many other factors are much stronger in promoting obesity. The obesity problem will never be solved if everyone keeps insisting it's primarily about appetite and satiety; it isn't. Inborn appetite variations don't explain the strong regional patterns to obesity, nor the generational patterns. Inborn appetite variations don't explain most instances of extreme obesity (in Tommy Tomlinson's memoir about his weight, he mentions that he rarely felt physically hungry; he ate for reasons unrelated to appetite.) And let's not overlook the fact is that that not everyone who eats a lot is overweight, and not everyone who is overweight eats a lot. A poor appetite (considered a worrying sign for all of human history) is not a great thing either, by the way; it can easily lead to nutritional deficiencies in adults and problems with growth and development in children.
12
I’m missing something. 6% have a mutation that turns the gene on “incorrectly” and 6% have it turned off when it should be on. What about the other 88%? There’s discussion of a risk score, which suggests a continuum, but I’m not seeing an explanation or evidence in the article for its basis.
7
@Roger
For the polygenic risk score there is no physiological explanation, and that is one problem (among others) with that study.
1
@Los Honores there is no physiological explanation for the risk score as we don’t understand the biology yet of the myriad genes that comprise it.
3
@Tony Merriman
I totally agree. We also don't know how much of what is seen is somehow linked to ethnic stratification. As things are, bringing this into the clinic is not realistic at best.
1
As usual this is being taken out of context. The key here is "some people." It does not take into account the current environment of morbid obesity that simply did not exist on the scale it does today, even twenty years ago. For most, it is still a matter of management and discipline, as are most challenges in life.
11
My son, now 21, was underweight throughout his childhood, with a "poor appetite." He was unhappy about it and I worried about his health. I found very little information about lack of appetite; everything I read about kids and food was aimed at overweight. So I'm very pleased to read this article, but also frustrated: why is research on appetite presented as being about obesity? Why does the focus always have to be there? Why can't it be about trying to find a balance between too much and too little?
17
Once again conflict reaches the comments as we struggle to villainize or vindicate what is willed from what is willpower. Genes are not binary actors in one man show. What mutations a gene has matter, but more important is if, when, and how they are expressed, (why the field embraces both genomics to proteomics). Having a mutation is important, but multiple factors may prevent or enhance its expression, muting or proliferating its effects. Single gene mutations predicted a small fraction of the weights they observed, (an amazing rarity itself; conditions attributable to single gene mutations are extremely rare). The vast majority of behaviors and outcomes reveal themselves when many genes take part in the complex process of expression- modified by the choices we have made before, the current state of our body, and our surroundings: what we breath and eat and see and feel and do and have done. It's beautifully, wonderfully complicated dance within which is choice, possibly, and destiny, (and behind which an army of scientists, researchers, post docs, and grad students toiling to tease it apart one coffee fueled day at a time).
10
@A friend
1. We don't know what variants mean in terms of function, the translational outcome in the clinic less than obvious
2. I suspect findings will be very hard to replicate in non Europeans, that is a huge problem
3. Unclear if the score is actually assessing some behavioral traits rather than just metabolism
2
@A friend: Read Libet & Koch--there is no such thing as choice. Man is a machine w/risible pretenses to mind, volition & personhood. Get used to it!
1
My comment was specifically about Khera et al. study in Cell
There may be some small percentage of people genetically unable to feel sated, but articles like this serve as enablers for the majority of obese people: those who just don't eat the right foods.
Snacking on "Cheap, tasty, high-calorie foods" won't help even the genetically-inclined-to-feel-sated crowd because it won't give their bodies the assortment of nutrients it needs, in the absence of which it will turn up its digestive powers, contracting the gut and filling it with burning digestive fluids: the common symptoms of hunger.
Most thin people get hungry, too. But if they eat a proper balance of clean, fresh, mostly plant-based foods, their bodies will usually have enough of everything they need to get them through to the next meal.
14
What would explain the massive increase in the percentage of overweight/obese Americans over the last 40 years?
We had the same genes then as now.
There is probably some small number of people genetically pre-disposed to be thin and fat.
For the rest of us, it's our choices.
48
Likely the proliferation of easily accessible, cheap fatty/sugary processed foods on the market today. Yes, it is about choices - but it is much harder to avoid these unhealthy choices than it used to be. Especially if you are time crunched and on a tight budget - a Big Mac is certainly a lot cheaper than a salad, even from someplace like Panera. And if you are working two jobs you might not have the time to cook at home.
26
@Luddite we are WAY more sedentary than we were. All the new and better gizmos mean less work and more TV, another sedentary event. And for those with some extra money, often they pay people to clean(guilty) and do the yard work. Let’s face it, I am reading this on line, much less work than turning newspaper pages.
19
@Luddite
Genes do not work in the simplistic way you assume, as the article was careful not to state. What mutations a gene has matter, but moreso if, when, and how they are expressed (why study has moved from genomics to proteomics); having a mutation is important, but others prevent or enhance its expression, its effects are muted or proliferated. Single gene mutations predicted a small fraction of weights they observed (which is an amazing rarity; conditions attributable to single gene mutations are extremely rare). The vast majority of behaviors and outcomes reveal themselves when many genes take part in the complex process of expression- modified by the choices we have made before, the current state of our body, and our surroundings: what we breath and eat and see and feel and do and have done. It's beautifully, wonderfully complicated dance within which is choice, possibly, and destiny (and behind which an army of scientists, researchers, post docs, and grad students toiling to tease it apart one coffee fueled day at a time).
13
It would be interesting to explore whether stress interferes with the expression of this gene. I have noticed that at times of extreme stress I will not eat much at all and lose weight, as my stomach feels coiled up and feels as if food would make me sick, whereas during long periods of unhappiness/low-level stress, I will gorge and think about food most of the time - and put on weight. When undertaking a weight-loss diet, I have been successful only when my life is otherwise calm and in balance - and then I have no difficulty limiting my food intake.
28
Not so fast, will power is also determined by our genetics. We are essentially very sophisticated robots. Environment only plays a role to the extent that underlying genetics allow.
7
For those of us who have had their DNA tested, it would be helpful if this article mentioned the reference SNP (reference single nucleotide polymorphism) that has been determined to keep satiety turned on all the time. It is rs2229616, which is located on chromosome 18. Most of us have a G or C at this location; the lucky few have one or two As or Ts. (Officially the common or wild type is G;G but for those who've tested at 23andMe, you will see a C in place of the G or a T instead of A.) You can look up your genotype on the "raw data" page at 23andMe -- just put "rs2229616" in the search field.
22
That body weight is influenced by genetics is not surprising. What's truly distressing is the bias and weight prejudice expressed in many of the posted comments.
99
@David Wallenstein, MD
I agree. On most topics, NY Times comments are thoughtful, open-minded and empathetic. Not so when it comes to articles about food, weight, and exercise, when many comments express a level of self-satisfaction and contempt for overweight people that is really appalling.
38
So the majority of Americans are overweight because of a genetic mutation?
8
@MWR I don't believe the article said that at all, it's just identifying and describing this genetic mutation.
6
Interesting... I'm the child of a naturally thin mother and a "has to work at being thin" father. I get hungry, but I never get "hangry". I can go all day without eating and I'm often so lazy, I'll skip eating because cooking, eating out or ordering delivery seems like too much effort. I'm 45 and have always been thin.
15
@Sharon I can't tell you how often I've went to bed hungry because I was too lazy and cheap to make anything or oder anything. I'm 30 and I'm just starting to look like I'm not suffering from an eating disorder for the first time in my life.
2
The real story ought to be that highly processed, fatty, sugary foods promote obesity; no matter what. To be larded with the fact that sedentary lifestyles promote unhealthy bodies.
It's not essentially about economic elitism (although it somewhat is)--it's mainly individual choices.
9
It is depressing that some thin people make moral judgements on the overweight and see themselves as morally superior. This research highlights that weight as with most of the human condition is a complex, multi-layered issue. Human kind has thrived on empathy and community. We should employ those qualities to find a solution rather than blame focus.
117
At some point the food industry will be found guilty of the same thing the tobacco industry was- increasing the addictive chemicals in their products. You better believe these companies add chemicals to their foods that are known to cause cravings. It’s shall
about selling more. 🍪🍭🍩🥛
32
@Karen Of course they do. They are in business to make a profit. The solution is to educate people to prefer other types of foods which will create a business incentive for the food industry to change.
6
I'm dying to know... do these lucky 'suppressed-appetite' people get the munchies if they smoke pot?
6
@morphd I don’t FYI
5
@morphd
I do! And why can't they put that gene in a pill?
1
If you can't control what your 8-year-old eats, you should be ashamed.
11
It's interesting how the article avoids mentioning CRISPR intervention. Ethical cleansing it would seem.
1
The easy way out. Blame it on genetics, not parenting, lack of will power, food sources, job related lack of activity. Please
12
@BM I didn't read this as blaming anything on genetics (obviously you did), but more identifying that there exists a gene that plays a role. It's not "one or the other".
11
In my case it is primarily metabolism, not limiting intake due to feeling full. Up until my late 30s I could eat vast amounts of food and be thin like a stick without any exercise. My greatest fear when traveling was not getting enough to eat.
The metabolic explanation seems confirmed by my reduced appetite in the summer and warmer locations, when my body naturally ate less. Mental work also made me much hungrier than relaxing on a vacation.
When I moved to France where the food is not enriched, I struggled to keep up my weight, and went on a trip to the Southwest to try ‘fattening up’. I failed.
Throughout, I recall one notable exception: a week studying for final exams when I ate five meals a day, the last one half a pizza at 2am - I finally put on 5 lbs, which I promptly lost again. So there did seem to be some threshold where the body finally gave up.
But in my late 30s, I began gaining weight. I attribute this metabolic slowdown in part with an overall reduction in energy expenditure, and the rest to age: I had mellowed, and stopped figuratively and literally running around; I no longer used up as much nervous energy.
Now I must watch what and how much I eat, and exercise is necessary.
12
This article could be written in a more thorough way by pointing out that genetic differences account for a tiny portion of the obese population. Until the 80s, obesity was quite rare and now it afflicts about half the American population.
Please write articles about the prevalence of the two types of plastics in our environment that have been linked to weight gain. What are the latest studies finding? I’m sure the oil industry won’t mind learning what the ubiquity of plastics & petroleum byproducts are doing to human physiology.
15
@Cordelia Well, that would be a whole different article. This one's intent was only about the genetic mutation. Now, if it sparked thoughts about other aspects of the weight loss/gain puzzle, that's great, but to say that the article wasn't thorough because it didn't talk about something other than its intent is inequitable.
6
People don't overeat because they're hungry. They do it because they enjoy it. It's that simple. Develop a pill that makes food taste like cardboard and you've solved obesity.
11
I’d have to disagree with that, just based on my personal experience; I sometimes do indeed overeat because I’m hungry, or, to be more precise, because I FEEL hungry. Our bodies are quite capable of continuing to send these signals to us even if we’ve already eaten and we wish the feelings of continued hunger would just stop...
8
Assuming these mutations are not a recent development, what did people do for most of our prehistory when presented with constant cravings? I don't think Dunkin Donuts predates the 7th century.
18
I wonder if fecal transplants would help with this issue, epigenetically? Has this been tried?
4
I'm pretty sure I have the "hungry a lot of the time variant" but I've never been overweight. My mother was, but she followed the standard American diet; I fought my urges and unhealthy food cravings and follow what is usually described as the Mediterranean diet.
Sometimes I go on a binge and eat lots of high fat high carb foods and it feels good to eat for eating's sake; the food tastes so good, it's easy to eat past fullness; food feels like an addiction.
In short, I can control my appetite and my weight if I eat healthful foods and understand my food urges (drinking water or tea often satisfies my hunger), but I have a much harder time if I eat the feel-good food promoted by our culture (I feel a lot of pressure to do so).
Therefore, from a personal level, my perspective is that our junk food laden culture contributes to obesity -- it's not just DNA. From a sociological perspective, if it's so much the result of genes, why is the obesity rate 10 times higher today among children and adolescents than in the 1970s?
35
@Katie One of the differences is the children of the 1970s went outside to play and the games involved physical activity. Children today sit down to play.
18
More info, please. Is the gene related to ghrelin and leptin, the 2 hormones we know factor into feelings of hunger and satiety?
19
My son has always been hungry and fixated on food. He’s been given plenty because, well, it’s hard to say “no” to a hungry kid. He’s 11 and pretty significantly overweight now. (Yes, I feel guilty about it and even with help have been unable to turn it around.) I think if he was working on my great-grandfather’s potato farm 100 years ago he might be equally as hungry, but maybe not equally as overweight because he would be working all day and only getting allotted his portion of homemade food at the supper table. (And he has some food sensory issues, but 100 years ago you got what you got, or you didn’t get.) To me, it’s both genes and environment. Heck, it’s everything! The more we know about how to deal with the issue on every front, the better.
43
@Honeybee Thanks. It is hard.
14
it could be Prader Willi syndrome. that is an epigenetic disease, ie not from DNA mutations, and one phenotype is constant hunger. I think it affects one gender and not the other, if I remember right, so if your twins are fraternal, different genders, that could be one explanation. another phenotype is being very friendly.
7
@Susan Pretty sure Prader Willi is only seen in males, and there are other abnormalities which would be evident (cognitive problems and microgenitalia if I remember correctly)
Why can’t we ever discuss why the FDA allows so many additives in our food? If fewer people were obese 50 years ago, it might be because we had fewer unnecessary chemicals in our food, chemicals that just serve to keep you eating when you are no longer hungry. There’s a reason why you “can’t eat just one.”
67
This article makes me hungry.
8
"Cheap, tasty, high-calorie foods are available almost everywhere, and snacking and grazing are commonplace. Those at high risk for obesity “may be more easily seduced."
So, doesn't the above speak directly to willpower, even though the premise of the article states has nothing to do with obesity epidemic?!
It's willpower. People have carried this variant for more than the last few decades, the time at which people have become exponentially bigger. In this time, I've seen New Yorkers go from taking one subway seat, to two, to now, there are those whose girth is so huge, they encompass three entire seats on the subway. Don't say this has nothing to do with willpower.
I, for one, vacillate between normal to overweight. I'm not some hapless victim. There are many times I eat when I'm not hungry. Heck, I even eat sometimes when I'm so full it makes me sick.
And, yes, I know calorie dense foods will also make me fatter, and, lacking willpower and wanting what I want, self-discipline be damned, I am now once again overweight. I also know what it will take to attain the body I like to inhabit during the hot summer: willpower. I'm pretty sure it's the same for most everybody else, a few genetic variants aside.
Let's quit making excuses for the gluttons we (and I) have become. Only then can we stop being 'victims' who do nothing to make ourselves fat. In weight, as in much else, our destiny lies in our own hands--or mouths.
22
It would be wonderful to see studies that take as a fundamental the broad natural variation in weight and body size across the population, instead of those consistently showing weight bias.
Despite Set Point Theory being the accepted scientific rationale for weight and size diversity across the entire population, studies like this erroneously and continuously correlate weight and body size solely with food intake. The article appears to allude to this towards the end, pointing out that many with the gene live in average size bodies.
People genetically predisposed to average weight and size are not necessarily healthier. Those with the genes for a larger body don't need "fixing". We, as a society, need informed journalism that reflects the biological reality of weight and size diversity and that eschews the ubiquitous shaping of weight bias as "health" messages.
7
I don't eat processed foods AT ALL
I don't eat 'junk' foods
I do not drink sugary or non sugar soft drinks, only water
I don't eat fast foods
Why am I over weight
40
@Lee
When I was a kid, I ate sugar all the time. I drank soda, lived on pizza, and ate a lot of candy. But I was always playing pick up basketball, riding my bike, playing stickball, doing school sports, and running around. eating bad food is not good for you, but buring food off keeps one thin.
This past winter, I skied for 4 weeks. When you ski, you burn calories going down hill, staying warm, and also crossing flat areas to get to lifts and lodges. After a week, my ski pants were falling off, because my waist had shrunk. I wasn't eating terrific food (I was living on cliff bars and other protein-y snack foods), but I wasn't snacking (because busy skiing) and I was doing a ton of exercise. I was just downhill skiing. They say that cross country skiing burns more calories than any other activity. I believe it. If you go skiing for a month, you'll lose weight.
11
@Anti-Marx: Cross-country skiing is the best. I cross-country skied my fanny off for several years, 10-20 miles of ski 'hikes' winter weekends, hiked in summer, did 1-2 week long hiking excursions hut-to-hut, walked at least 5 miles every day, climbed four stories of steep steps at least 4 times a day, did spin class almost every day, and normal weight yes, slimmer yes, but never gained any muscle tone - almost zero. And what little was gained, didn't stick around long the moment all these activities ceased. To lose a pound I would need to undertake all of this again - nearly impossible at this point. There is little justice in fitness and weight and how it's dealt to us.
10
@Lee Sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things.
Still, one can eat healthy food items and still eat too much of them. Look at *how much* you eat versus how much you move.
2
Articles like these are irresponsible.
These mutations are found in 6% of CHILDREN with SEVERE obesity. Not obesity in general. What a misleading denominator! And this is the most common single gene cause, and even for those with mutations, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are more likely--not destiny.
The most basic understanding of genetics would make it obvious that genes cannot be the primary driver of obesity because of the rate at which the obesity epidemic has unfolded.
Moreover, the idea that a small number of people naturally feel more or less hungry does not disprove behavioral effects in the slightest. Even if *most* people who were obese felt more hungry, it would not. Among people who are predisposed to feel more (or less) hunger, some choose to eat more and others less, and some exercise more and others less. Some choose foods like sweets that amplify the effects of low satiety. There is an interplay, not a destiny. Experts, for example at the Harvard School of Public Health, are clear that genes are not destiny, and their fact sheet concludes,"it’s important to remember that overall, the contribution of genes to obesity risk is small." For example, even for one of the most common predispositions, the FTO gene, the increased risk is only for the sedentary. Exercise wipes out the effect of the gene variant.
When people believe the opposite, though, healthy habits go out the window. This kind of sensational science reporting is not responsible.
86
@Polly
Why is it "irresponsible" to report a scientific discovery? You may not like the implications, but that isn't the same thing as being irresponsible. Also, you misrepresent the article -- the part about children was only a small piece of it AND it talked about factor s besides genetics.
I'm in the low-appetite category but I once had to go on prednisone, and it was a shocking change. I felt hollow an d ravenous, no matter how much I ate. The onlt thing that stopped me was having no room in my stomavch, but I never, ever felt full. Like starving people, I fantasized and obsessed about food and cooking. Everything tasted delicious.
And then I went off prednisone, and the hunger vanished like smoke. Food simply wasn't very attractive. Once again, my only cue for eating was when I got light-headed.
I began understanding how hard it must be for people who felt hungry all the time, naturally. Why shouldn't we learn about this important aspect of weight and eating? With knowledge, we can address the problems people have with weight. Everyone is unique in body, mind and situation
I've known or a long time that I'm not thin by some virtue, but only because my appetite is different. Weight is complicated, but let's acknowledge that appetite differences exist due to various causes, including genetics.
192
@Naomi
Because it is not just a report of a scientific study. It's a sensationalized splash story, taking results out of their context and misleading the reader about the current state of the field. Even the subtitle is not an accurate representation of the field as a whole. The statistics chosen are also misleading. In an article that aims to discus the obesity epidemic as a whole, why tell us that mutations in this gene cause 6% of severe childhood obesity but not also tell us the numbers as they relates to all cases? Because the numbers would be way less impressive. Same reason that science reporting often uses relative instead of absolute risk--it shocks people more when you get to use big numbers, even if they're not the most accurate way to report a finding. It is misleading.
There are genetic components to obesity, but on a population level they are small, and moreover many of the most common ones are modifiable or even eliminated by behaviors like exercise. I'm a biomedical researcher, and I'm familiar with the literature. I also cited the Harvard School of Public Health as an example which has a more even-handed treatment of the interplay between genes and environment.
Responsible science reporting eschews the flashy titles and puts the newest hot article in the context of the field as a whole. It uses statistics to inform, not exaggerate. Finally, it considers the consequences of over-simplification. This piece fails on all counts.
21
@Polly
Thank you for your expertly informed and intelligent discussion. Even in venues such as NYT evidently science is pitched against politics and self-centeredness.
5
A lot of "experts" on this thread disputing the research on the basis of a handful of personal anecdotes. Apparently we all now believe we're superheroes and have the power to actually see the motivations, psychological mechanisms and genetic influences of our nearest and dearest. If only our X-ray vision was so powerful used in reverse.
24
@Edward Lindon
It's the Dunning-Kruger effect in action once again...
9
I have three brothers, including a twin (fraternal) who are overweight and close to obese. I gained some weight in my youth, trying to bulk up for sports, but changes in diet, and a lifetime of physical work have kept me fairly slim. I now weigh the same as I did in high school, 50 years ago. I think in my case the genetics didn't favor me, but lifestyle did.
10
As someone who found eating a chore as a kid and was pretty seriously underweight, and as an adult loves food and could stand to lose 10 pounds, I wonder what my genetic makeup with regard to the satiety gene is.
17
How about not committing the classic logical fallacy that the two alternatives are disjunctive and instead claim that either or both is sufficient.
This is no different than saying that some people are really smart and thus do well in university - so if you aren't - no matter how much you study - you won't be successful.
2
@SteveRR The article states, "Having a high score 'is not deterministic,' Dr. Kathiresan said. “It doesn’t mean that just because you are in the top percentile you are doomed.” But a high score does indicate that weight control may be a struggle.
To say something has an effect is not the same as to say it is inalterably deterministic.
10
Regardless of whether one loves to eat or doesn't care much about it, if people would eat healthy food, not junk food, then this disparity would be much smaller. The food industry doesn't help at all.
67
@Kevin Mulligan "The food industry doesn't help at all."
You have that right. They spend millions researching ways to make their junk food addictive https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/16/459981099/how-the-food-industry-helps-engineer-our-cravings
12
Does this explain the rising obesity rate in the overall population? No.
10
No, it explains why some tend to overeat and others tend to underneath. For rising obesity levels, perhaps look to changes in food production, distribution and availability.
7
If only more people read, and read articles like this, maybe some of the inappropriate and hateful stereotypes that exist toward overweight people could be eliminated.
37
Ok, take it easy, everyone. No one is saying that this gene is the ONLY thing responsible for obesity in every single person! They are saying that it is part of the cause in SOME people!
If it is much harder to feel full, then it would make sense that it is much harder to eat less!
Have some empathy, and keep that in mind the next time you are tempted to judge a fat person.
169
America has a serious obesity problem that has two root causes. The second is that we have too much readily available food. The second is that we have too many readily available excuses why it is not our fault that we are fat.
It used to be "glandular problems" now it's "bad DNA".
8
Being height weight proportional is about the tiny decisions that you make each day.
7
Genetics aside, the average human is no match for FDA approved engineered food. When you learn how much "science" goes into modifying the processed food people (apparently are not wise enough to avoid even after decades of reported evidence) then it's easy to understand that current trends for obesity have very little to do with will power and everything to do with an apparently corrupt - or deeply ignorant - FDA. I mean, even the NYT's is oblivious - in 2019! How?!
The audio version of, Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, by Michael Moss is a great place to start.
16
Is this the same in animals, like dogs? I see fat dogs but never a fat lion. Maybe they should see if the same gene is present in other and primates. Have you ever seen an obese monkey?
1
@Alkoh Yes, primate obesity is a real problem. There are numerous labs that maintain obese monkey for research purposes. How do they get obese? Diet.
2
@Alkoh, really? i’ve Seen plenty of fat lions in captivity. And monkeys.
1
Excellent - I need some genetic engineering.
Food is scrumptious and I missed out on the “Enough, Already” gene.
12
This is fascinating, but the overconsumption of food often has as much to do with emotions and the need for comforting physical sensations as it does with satiety (or lack thereof). I have a heavy spouse, some heavy relatives, and a few heavy friends. I see people continue eating even when they say they are full, or snack repeatedly just because the food is there and it fills a need they cannot pinpoint. Yes, there are obese and morbidly obese people who never feel physically satiated because their bodies lack the ability to send that message. Okay. But there are so many more people who will continue to eat even when they are uncomfortably full. This is emotional eating. It’s a much more pervasive problem.
26
Weight seems too complicated to fully reduce to 1 genetic factor only.
I myself have found that eating sweets and simple carbohydrates causes cravings for more, whereas avoiding them completely makes interest in eating them entirely vaporize.
We also know that not all calories are metabolized or absorbed equally.
We know that gut bacteria seems to affect weight...at least in mice.
We know that antibiotics have been/are used to fatten up livestock...how? And what about people?
“Obesogens” are endocrine disrupters which enable obesity.
We also know that some drugs can severely affect weight: steroids, antidepressants, antipsychotics.
26
I don't at all doubt this finding - it sounds like good, solid science. But this doesn't - in my mind - discount the factor of self-control in weight and health. Sure there are a "lucky" few who carry this mutation and don't crave food,..... but all the rest of us do crave more calories than we need. And we set our minds to exercising each day and watching our energy intake and - with some effort - we stay healthy and fit with a good BMI ... and we live long lives and don't needlessly drain our respective insurance pools for preventative health issues.
12
Agreed, I think we've forgotten that a body actually need to "earn" it's food with a workout. That could be where the primal drive for excess calories stems from.
4
The worldwide epidemic of obesity is based heavily on the intake of sugary foods and beverages. If you only we could rectify and make drastic changes to what is offered to us and in addition to being affordable so we can focus on eating healthier and having an overall lifestyle. Sorry, but Genetics isn’t going to do the magic in the long run.
27
Sugar demonization is just another example of magic bullet thinking, like carbohydrate or fat demonization before it. In truth, managing a healthy weight is complicated and some of us have a better genetic predisposition than others. The focus on appetite does seem to be a new approach, one that could provide much more effective weight control strategies than we have had in the past.
17
@Jennifer Glen: And your expertise on this topic is....?
8
I don’t respond to uncalled for criticism that has no relation to this piece on this forum. Leave that for Facebook not here.
3
The effect of an MCR-4 mutation on appetite is analogous to sleep, in the sense that everyone around you seems to feel rested after an amount of sleep that you can’t even function on. Imagine feeling exhausted all the time yet being told you’re lazy. I hope they find a solution soon but it’s doubtful. I was studying this 20 years ago and they’re no further in finding a solution.
52
@boognish
Fourteen hours, baby! I'm all in.
1
I am always feeling hungry even after eating. Now I know a possible reason why. I am not obese, but I have a few more pounds than I like.
6
@catlover, I’m curious — does it help to drink a couple glasses of water when you still feel hungry? Do you feel a difference in lingering hunger when you eat a meal that is high in protein and fat, versus one that is high in carbs?
@Passion for Peaches
I have not tried drinking water to relieve hunger pangs. There is no difference depending on what I eat.
I have spent my whole life hungry. Thanks to genetic testing I now know that I produce more of the hormone gherlin than necessary. It was a relief to know that I'm just not a weak-willed slob, but there is a genetic basis for my hunger. Much easier to accept and deal with than being accused of a character flaw.
197
@GaylembHanson
OK. But the real question is what do you do with that information. Does it become an excuse to eat food at a high rate or do you work to find ways to consume less (or consume healthy foods)?
6
When you get to a certain age, yo can remember a dozen scientific breakthroughs that purported to have found the root cause of obesity. All have failed to pan out. Someday one of these paths will prove to be the right one, but we need healthy skepticism until there’s incontrovertible proof.
In the meantime it’s important to teach people what we do know: the idea that we’re in control of our eating is an illusion. Like breathing, we can control it for some time, but then the body inevitably returns to status quo ante. Charter and will power are not factors.
17
@Charlie B, the other thing that those of us who are older remember is that people in developed countries were so much thinner back in the 1970s and earlier! Something changed fundamentally in our diets, starting in the 1980s or thereabouts. Was it that sugars started turning up everywhere in our food? Or hydrogenated fats? Or was it the wide availability of cheap fast food? Or of junk foods in general? Every time I see news footage or photos of crowds from 40 or more years ago, I’m floored by how slim most of the people are.
83
My brothers are tall, thin, and never cared much about food. Indeed, the elder's doctor threatened to hospitalize him unless he gained weight. His wife has to remind him to eat and makes sure he consumes a couple of cans of liquid meal replacements every day. It's not just something that "runs in the family". Our folks were prone to gaining weight. So am I. Not fair.
57
My family, too. Some of us gain weight no matter how much they diet and exercise. Some of us are thin and don’t jump to the allure of most food. It’s possible that none of us have a healthy version of this gene, but variations in how we miss the norm. Possible?
11
Who wants to feel full all the time? To me, feeling full is a horrible feeling. Satisfied feels good but full feels gross.
15
Can I volunteer to get a dose of this gene?
66
The existence of a gene that mutes appetite does not prove that the obesity epidemic is caused by genes.
79
@ted The article doesn't claim that it does.
8
@Ben, yes it does.
Under the title.
"Two new studies confirm that weight control is often the result of genetics, not willpower."
14
@C Yes, that's true - I was mistaken not to note that mention of causality. The text of the article is generally careful not to impute causality. (And headlines are generally not written by the writer.)
However, neither the article nor the body mention an "epidemic".
5
"Are there as yet undiscovered genes that counter the ones pushing people to overeat?"
What about the connection between excessive eating and the genes (if any) that have to do with the connection with stress? Most of my up and down weight issues have been stress related. When my life has been especially stressful is when I've gone from eating to live to living to eat.
15
@A Goldstein
I dont "feel full all the time," but I get full extremely easily and have a built-in barrier against overeating. During times of extreme stress, I can hardly keep a pound on me.
12
This article should highlight that MC4R may be one of many inheritable genes that predispose people to obesity. For example, other studies suggest that specific genes cause higher fat retention. Certainly if we think about the history of human civilization, these genes may have been useful in times of food scarcity - people could more efficiently store energy as fat for later use.
25
Here we go into the realm of I can't help it, and people get even fatter. No matter that there are strategies to help even people who never feel full, keep a health weight.
27
@debra In my opinion, more prevalent than fat people saying they can't help being fat, are thin people feeling they are superior to fat people just for being thin. No matter how thin you are, examine your bias against fat people.
272
Clearly, Debra, you have not had to struggle with those “strategies” every day of your life.
96
@debra I agree with you. But I look at it in a slightly different way:
It isn't even a question of strategies. In every life, there will be areas of extreme discomfort. Some people seem to think that, God forbid, they might have to tolerate discomfort. So what if you don't feel full. Think of something ELSE.
So many people develop all sorts of addictions because they won't tolerate discomfort - as if life comes with a guarantee of perfection.
Fat people seem to envy thin people this genetic mutation. But a thin person might have intractable pain and a genetic sensitivity to opioid addiction. In such a case they would have to tolerate extreme discomfort or else have their lives destroyed by a different addiction than to food.
10