The Cause Of Obesity Lies In Chromosome 16.
Author: Alexander Bruni
Time for reading: ~1
minutes
Last Updated:
August 08, 2022
Severe obesity is caused by a lack of genetic information on chromosome sixteen.
Severe obesity is caused by a lack of genetic information on chromosome 16, says Philip Frogel, head of a team of British scientists at Imperial College London.
Initially, the team examined patients with mental retardation at risk of developing obesity. In 31 people with a body mass index over 30, they found that sections of chromosome 16 were missing.
The discovery prompted new research. In analyzing data from 16,000 patients, the team found dozens of patients with the same degree of obesity and similar genetic abnormalities, seven of whom had the same deletion on 16 chromosomes. By comparison, no person of normal weight has this defect.
According to Robin Walters, a scientist on the team, the partial loss of hereditary information explains the reason for the development of obesity in several generations of one genus. According to him, the discovery makes it possible to prepare a test to detect at-risk patients, treatment and prevention of overweight.
According to the National Health Agency in the UK, every third person in the country has a problem with excess weight at the end of primary school.
At this rate of spread of the disease in 2050, 60% more men will suffer from obesity, in women and children the percentages are 50% and 25%, respectively.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
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