Study: Hungry Again? It's In Your Genes!

Do you wonder why you’re the only one at the neighborhood barbecue going back for not only “seconds” but “thirds”?

Do “all you can eat” restaurants shudder when they see you walk in the door?

And are you frustrated – and maybe even a little angry – because you’re just so hungry all the time you simply can’t stay on a diet?

If this sounds familiar, don’t beat yourself up …your humongous appetite may be all in your genes.
At least that’s the conclusion of a new British study conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College in London.

The research , just published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, indicates the gene at fault is known as FTO - and when it's present it appears to modify our appetite so that we don’t get the feeling of satiety or fullness after eating a reasonable amount of food.

"“It is not simply the case that people who carry the risky variant of this gene automatically become overweight – but they are more susceptible to overeating," says lead author Professor Jane Wardle.

The study which focused on more than 3,000 children aged 8-11, compared the appetites and eating habits among those who carried the gene to those who did not.

Doctors relied on parental reports of the children’s vital statistics – including height, weight and waist circumference, and asked each family to fill out a food questionnaire designed to detail their children’s eating habits.

They also asked the parents to assess how much their children enjoyed food, and most importantly, how quickly and easily their appetite was satiated . Or, in short, how quickly they became full.

The end result: Those who carried the gene had a more difficult time getting full then those who didn’t carry the gene. And those who carried two copies were cited as having a much larger appetite – far above what would be normal for their age group.

According Wardle, “What we have shown is that children with the ’risky’ variants of the gene have weaker satiety responses – meaning they don’t just overeat, but they struggle to recognize when they are full, ” she says.

Moreover, she adds that FTO has a similar effect on both boys and girls, and that age, current weight, body mass index or socio economic background doesn’t seem to matter. FTO is, however, the first obesity gene to be discovered among the Caucasian race.

And while the researchers are quick to point out that carrying the extra gene doesn’t guarantee you are carrying the extra pounds – but it does put you at risk for being overweight simply because you are likely to eat more than the person whose appetite is under proper genetic control.

This is not the first study to link FTO with obesity. Previous research has shown that adults who harbor the gene generally weigh more than those who don't. The missing piece was whether or not FTO influences appetite or calorie burning. This was the first research to hone in on FTO's link to appetite.

Moreover, experts say the findings add to a growing body of evidence that obesity is, at least in part, influenced by genetics. One recent study suggested it may be responsible for up to 77% of all weight problems – with only 25% of the blame going to environmental factors.

Researchers also estimate there are some 600 different genes currently identified as playing a role in obesity – indicating there is no one single genetic cause, and that issues could be different for each of us.

In 2007, more than 25% of the US population tipped the scales into the obese category – up almost 2% from 2005, according to reports in Morbidity and Mortality for this month.

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