The Genetics of Obesity, Part III

Genetics Loads the Gun, Environment Pulls the Trigger

Thanks to a WHS reader* for reminding me of the above quote by Dr. Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health**.  This is a concept that helps reconcile the following two seemingly contradictory observations:

1. Roughly 70 percent of obesity risk is genetically inherited, leaving only 30 percent of risk to environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle.
2. Diet and lifestyle have a large impact on obesity risk.  The prevalence of obesity has tripled in the last 30 years, and the prevalence of extreme obesity has increased by almost 10-fold.  This is presumably not enough time for genetic changes to account for it.

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Return to the Source Parkour Camp

For those who are interested in natural movement training, this summer my friend Rafe Kelley will be hosting an interesting three-day event near Bellingham, WA called "Return to the Source".  Rafe is skilled in a variety of movement disciplines and is the co-founder of the Seattle parkour gym Parkour Visions.  Parkour is a very fun sport that hones our natural ability to skillfully navigate physical obstacles, but it's usually done in an urban context.

The camp will take place from August 23-25.  Here's a description from the Parkour Visions site:

"This summer, return to the source of human movement with Parkour Visions as we explore the natural environment in and around Bellingham, WA. Rafe Kelley will introduce you to the benefits of training and playing in nature. You will learn how to adapt your technique and movement to moving effectively through woods, over rocks, and in trees during this unique, 3-day experience."

Watch this video if you want to see what you're in for.

Knowing Rafe, it will be fun and productive.  You can sign up through this page (scroll down).

The Genetics of Obesity, Part II

Rodents Lead the Way

The study of obesity genetics dates back more than half a century.  In 1949, researchers at the Jackson Laboratories identified a remarkably fat mouse, which they determined carried a spontaneous mutation in an unidentified gene.  They named this the "obese" (ob/ob) mouse.  Over the next few decades, researchers identified several other genetically obese mice with spontaneous mutations, including diabetic (db/db) mice, "agouti" (Avy) mice, and "Zucker" (fa/fa) rats.

At the time of discovery, no one knew where the mutations resided in the genome.  All they knew is that the mutations were in single genes, and they resulted in extreme obesity.  Researchers recognized this as a huge opportunity to learn something important about the regulation of body fatness in an unbiased way.  Unbiased because these mutations could be identified with no prior knowledge about their function, therefore the investigators' pre-existing beliefs about the mechanisms of body fat regulation could have no impact on what they learned.  Many different research groups tried to pin down the underlying source of dysfunction: some thought it was elevated insulin and changes in adipose tissue metabolism, others thought it was elevated cortisol, and a variety of other hypotheses.

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... beer!!

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The Genetics of Obesity, Part I

Choosing the Right Parents: the Best Way to Stay Lean?

In 1990, Dr. Claude Bouchard and colleagues published a simple but fascinating study demonstrating the importance of genetics in body fatness (1).  They took advantage of one of the most useful tools in human genetics: identical twins.  This is what happens when a single fertilized egg generates two embryos in utero and two genetically identical humans are born from the same womb.   By comparing identical twins to other people who are not genetically identical (e.g., non-identical twins), we can quantify the impact of genes vs. environment on individual characteristics (2).

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... low-carb gluten-free bacon chocolate mocha ice cream cake!!

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... cronuts!!

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Food Reward Friday

This week's "winner" will certainly be the most controversial yet... bacon!!

Bacon is a fatty cut of pork (typically side or back) that has been thinly sliced, cured, then cooked until crispy.  This results in a fatty, salty, savory flavor that almost everyone loves.  Bacon's extremely high calorie density, saltiness, and savory flavor give it a reward value that competes with chocolate and ice cream.  Sometimes it's even used to flavor chocolate and ice cream!

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Update

I haven't been putting much effort into blogging these past few weeks.  Frankly, a little break has been nice while I take care of other things in my life.  But I haven't been twiddling my thumbs.  Obesity research hasn't slowed down and there are many topics that I'd love to write about here if I had the time.  I'll be starting a new series soon on the genetics of obesity-- a fascinating subject.  I also plan to cover some of my recent publications on obesity and blood glucose control by the brain.  Last but not least, we will soon roll out a substantially upgraded version of the Ideal Weight Program.  Those who have already purchased the program will continue to have access to the new version.

Cara Mencegah Kanker Payudara

Cara Mencegah Kanker Payudara - Pada artikel sebelumnya telah dibahas tentang apa itu kanker payudara, penyebab kanker payudara, dan gejala kanker payudara. Kali ini akan saya bahas tentang cara mencegah kanker payudara.

Adapun cara-cara untuk mencegah kanker payudara sebagai berikut :


Hindari penggunaan BH yang terlalu ketat dalam waktu lama.
Hindari banyak merokok dan mengkonsumsi alkohol.

Gejala - Gejala Kanker Payudara

Gejala Kanker Payudara - Kanker Payudara merupakan penyakit yang paling ditakuti wanita, penyakit yang satu ini merupakan penyakit ganas yang seringkali berujung kematian.

Penyakit kanker payudara terbilang penyakit kangker yang paling umum menyerang kaum wanita, meski demikian pria pun memiliki kemungkinan mengalami penyakit ini dengan perbandingan 1 di antara 1000.

Beberapa faktor risiko

Mengenal Penyakit Kanker Payudara

Kanker Payudara

Kanker payudara merupakan jenis penyakit kanker dengan jumlah penderita terbanyak nomor dua di dunia. Sedangkan dari tingkat kematian, kanker payudara menyebabkan kematian nomor lima terbesar di dunia.

Beberapa tahun lalu, kanker payudara di Indonesia berada di urutan kedua tertinggi setelah kanker serviks. Namun, sekarang kanker payudara malah menduduki peringkat pertama

Manfaat - Manfaat Pisang Bagi Kesehatan

Manfaat Pisang

Manfaat Pisang - Pisang adalah salah satu buah populer yang banyak dijuampai di pedesaan maupun perkotaan. Pisang kaya akan serat dan mengandung 3 jenis gula alami yakni glukosa, sukrosa, dan fruktosa, yang membuat pisang memiliki berbagai manfaat. Apa saja manfaat pisang bagi kesehatan? Berikut ulasannya:

1. Sebagai Sumber Tenaga.
Kandungan Gula dalam pisang dengan mudah dapat

Cara Menghilangkan Panu

Cara Menghilangkan Panu

Cara Menghilangkan Panu - Panu atau dalam istilah medis "Pitriyasis Versicolor" merupakan salah satu penyakit kulit yang disebabkan oleh infeksi jamur Pityrosporum ovale di permukaan kulit.

Panu adalah penyakit kulit yang sebenarnya tidak mematikan namun keberadaan panu pada kulit apalagi bila panu tersebut berada disekitar wajah anda tentunya akan mengakibatkan

The Neurobiology of the Obesity Epidemic

I recently read an interesting review paper by Dr. Edmund T. Rolls titled "Taste, olfactory and food texture reward processing in the brain and the control of appetite" that I'll discuss in this post (1).  Dr. Rolls is a prolific neuroscience researcher at Oxford who focuses on "the brain mechanisms of perception, memory, emotion and feeding, and thus of perceptual, memory, emotional and appetite disorders."  His website is here.

The first half of the paper is technical and discusses some of Dr. Rolls' findings on how specific brain areas process sensory and reward information, and how individual neurons can integrate multiple sensory signals during this process.  I recommend reading it if you have the background and interest, but I'm not going to cover it here.  The second half of the paper is an attempt to explain the obesity epidemic based on what he knows about the brain and other aspects of human biology.

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Cara Menghilangkan Stres

Cara Menghilangkan Stres - Stres adalah suatu kondisi yang terjadi dikarenakan tekanan yang melebihi kemampuan maksimum seseorang secara psikologis sehingga tindakannya menjadi kurang terkontrol secara sehat serta terganggunya sistem metabolisme tubuh sehingga menimbulkan berbagai macam penyakit.

Stres banyak dialami oleh masyarakat perkotaan saat ini di seluruh dunia, karena dipengaruhi oleh

Jerawat Pada Kemaluan Pria, Bahayakah?

Jerawat Pada Kemaluan - Bagi pria, punya jerawat terkadang memalukan, apalagi munculnya bukan cuma di wajah tetapi juga di kemaluan.

Jerawat pada kemaluan pria ada banyak pemicunya, sebagian berbahaya dan sebagian lagi dianggap normal. Bagaimana membedakannya?

Benjolan seperti jerawat yang muncul dikemaluan sangat beragam. Bisa saja benjolan tersebut adalah abses biasa atau bisa juga kista

Inilah Makanan-Makanan Penyebab Ketombe

Makanan Penyebab Ketombe - Tak hanya gaya hidup yang memicu munculnya ketombe, namun juga makanan yang kita konsumsi. Berikut ini beberapa makanan yang dapat menimbulkan ketombe, bahkan memperparah ketombe.

1. Makanan Produk Susu.
Susu dan turunannya mengurangi ketahanan kondisi kulit kepala dan memicu munculnya ketombe.

2. Gorengan.
Makanan yang digoreng (gorengan) merangsang minyak

8 Cara Mudah Membuat Gigi Putih dan Sehat

Cara Memutihkan Gigi - Memiliki gigi putih membuat senyum akan semakin menawan. Namun gigi ternyata tidak cukup putih, tetapi juga harus sehat. Jadi coba simak cara membuat gigi putih dan sehat berikut ini.

1. Makanan dan Minuman.
Setelah minum teh, kopi, soda, atau merokok, segera bersihkan gigi atau makan apel demi mencegah noda yang tertinggal. Selain itu, jangan malas makan buah-buahan

Cara Mengatasi Ngantuk Berlebihan

Cara Mengatasi Ngantuk - Pada artikel sebelumnya telah dibahas penyebab-penyebab selalu mengantuk sepanjang hari, yang menandakan adanya penyakit.

Untuk mengatasi rasa ngantuk yang selalu datang sepanjang hari, berikut tips yang bisa anda lakukan.

1. Konsumsi Kacang Almond.
Kacang almond kaya akan zat besi yang dapat meningkatkan aliran darah dalam tubuh.

2. Banyak minum Air Putih.
Selain