Gene found that affects links to food intake and weight

Experts applaud new proof of the biological basis for obesity, which, according to another study, is getting worse.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. May 7, 2007.

The old chestnut that some people can eat anything without gaining a pound while others bulk up just by looking at a snack may involve both a nugget of truth and a genetic basis.

According to a study published in the February Journal of Molecular Medicine, Framingham Heart Study participants who possess the APOA5-1131C gene allele did not gain weight if they had more fat in their diet. Thirteen percent of the population carries this variation.

"We have all known people that do not watch what they eat but usually don't see any effect on their weight," said Jose Ordovas, PhD, one of the authors and director of the Nutrition and Genomics Laboratory at the Jean Mayer U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. "This is the first study that enables us to identify this segment of the population using information on this gene."

This polymorphism previously has been implicated in increasing levels of triglycerides and stroke risk, and physicians complimented this study for demonstrating that obesity involves more than eating too much and not getting enough physical activity.

"It's one more piece of evidence that there's biology behind this, and it opens the door to new treatments down the road," said J. Michael Gonzalez-Campoy, MD, PhD, chief executive officer of the Minnesota Center for Obesity, Metabolism and Endocrinology in Eagan. He also is a Minority Affairs Consortium delegate to American Medical Association meetings and frequently has spoken on obesity-related issues.