Obesity gene makes people constantly hungry, study

Imagine always being hungry and never feeling full. Well, scientists say that’s how a gene linked to obesity causes people to put on weight.

Previous research had long established a link between people who carry the gene known as FTO and obesity.

However, scientists were not sure how it worked. Did it make people fat by increasing appetite or did just ensure that calories were burnt off slower?

Well, a new study into the eating habits of thousands of children found that those with two versions of the higher risk version of FTO had no ‘hunger control’.

So while everyone else is full to the brim after eating one Big Mac, someone with the obesity a certain version of the gene would still be hungry and eyeing up another three.

Or, at least, that’s what researchers at University College London think.

The results of their study, which are published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that the kids with two copies of the gene were less likely to have their appetite suppressed by eating. So in other words, they were never full.

Jane Wardle, the study leader, said: “People who carry the risky variant of this gene are more vulnerable to the modern environment with big portion sizes.”

Dr David Haslam, clinical director of the National Obesity Forum, said the research was “very interesting”.

However, speaking to the BBC, he said: “We are looking at a thousand-piece jigsaw and we have shown how the first two pieces fit together.

“It is a step in the right direction, but what we don’t want to say is ‘we have got the gene for obesity, therefore we can cure it’ - that is not going to happen for many years to come.”

Pic: Morguefile