Wendy Wu Term 2 Biomedia Report

Gene Linked to Obesity Hasn't Always Been a Problem, Study Finds

Summary
In 2007, researchers discovered that the common variant of a gene called FTO was associated with weight gain. As this subject was further studied, it was repeatedly confirmed that on average, one copy of this risky variant added up to 3.5 extra pounds of weight. Two copies of the gene brought 7 extra pounds and increase the risk of becoming obese by 50 percent. However, just recently it has been found that this gene hadn’t always been a factor in weight. A new study shows that FTO became a risk only in people born after World War II. It suggests that the relative importance of certain genes shifts over the years as the environment changes. In this study, researchers obtained data such as body mass index and genetic information from an already ongoing project since 1948 that follows the health of 5,000 people and the generations of offspring in Framingham, MA. They noticed people born before the early 1940s were not at an additional risk of putting on weight if they had the risky variant of FTO. Only subjects born in later years had a greater risk. Also, it was found that the more recently they were born, the greater the gene’s effect. Researchers, surprised at the data when comparing subjects born in different eras, theorized that some change in the way people lived in the late 20th century may have transformed FTO into a gene with a big impact on the risk of obesity. Some possibilities include the decreasing level of physical activity and modern diets. The results of this new study could drastically impact the way doctors predict diseases. What seems to be a safe version of a gene today could become a risk factor in the future.

Relevance
This article connects with a previous unit because it demonstrates how environmental conditions can influence phenotypic expression. As we learned in class, the product of a genotype is not rigidly defined but rather a range of possibilities depending on the environment which in this case, is the drastic change in different time periods.

Citation
Zimmer, Carl. "Gene Linked to Obesity Hasn't Always Been a Problem, Study Finds." New York Times 1 Jan. 2015: (L). Science in Context. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.

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