Fat's 'master switch found

[Two Thumbs]

Fat's 'master switch' found -- could we turn it off? - Health - Diabetes - msnbc.com

LONDON — Scientists have found that a gene linked to diabetes and cholesterol is a "master switch" that controls other genes found in fat in the body, and say it should help in the search for treatments for obesity-related diseases.

In a study published in the journal Nature Genetics, the British researchers said that since fat plays an important role in peoples' susceptibility to metabolic diseases like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, the regulating gene could be target for drugs to treat such illnesses.

"This is the first major study that shows how small changes in one master regulator gene can cause a cascade of other metabolic effects in other genes," said Tim Spector of King's College London, who led the study.

More than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, are obese and the numbers have doubled since the 1980s as the obesity epidemic has spilled over from wealthy into poorer nations.

In the United States, obesity-related diseases already account for nearly 10 percent of medical spending -- an estimated $147 billion a year.

Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, is also reaching epidemic levels worldwide as rates of obesity rise.

All those years of diet and exercise for nuthin! ​

 

[Mad Scientist]

Everyone has a fat "master switch", it's called your mouth. Instead of leaving it on all the time try turning it off for a while and see what happens.

 

[Two Thumbs]

Everyone has a fat "master switch", it's called your mouth. Instead of leaving it on all the time try turning it off for a while and see what happens.

Soon enough we won't have to be responsible for our eating habbits.

Now if they could only find the execise switch so I can stop doing that also.

 

[waltky]

Granny keeps tellin' Uncle Ferd dem Twinkies he snackin' on gonna make him fat like his g/f's an' give him the diabetes...

Snacking clue to obesity epidemic
29 June 2011 - Foods like pizza are energy dense

Snacking and super sizing are two of the dieter's worst enemies, research suggests. The average daily calorie intake in the US has increased by almost a third in 30 years, reaching 2,374 kilocalories. The influence of bigger portion sizes and excessive snacking outweighs the shift towards high-calorie foods, say experts. Focusing on reducing how much and how often people eat could help tackle obesity, they report in PLoS Medicine. Obesity levels have risen sharply in many Western countries since the 1970s. In the US, where the study was carried out, a third of all adults - more than 72 million people - are now categorised as obese.

A team from the University of North Carolina analysed data from food surveys carried out in the seventies, eighties, nineties and the last decade. The surveys record all food and drink a person consumes over a 24-hour period. The average daily energy intake of a US citizen increased from 1,803 kcal in 1977-78 to 2,374 kcal in 2003-06. In the last decade of the study alone, the average daily calorie intake went up by 229 kcal. Several factors are involved in energy intake - the number of calories (energy) in a specific amount of food (energy density), portion size and how many meals and snacks a day eaten. The researchers say that while all of these have gone up, increases in the number of eating occasions and portion size seem to account for most of the change. They suggest efforts to prevent obesity should focus on reducing the number of snacks and meals a day as well as portion size. "These findings suggest a new focus for efforts to reduce energy imbalances in US adults," write Kiyah Duffey and Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina in the journal PloS Medicine.

Commenting on the paper, Dr Áine O'Connor, a scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Many factors influence total energy intake that can lead to [being] overweight and obesity but it is possible that having more eating occasions through the day, for example by frequent snacking, would increase calorie consumption and so lead to weight gain. "This study also looked at portion size and studies have shown that having larger portions of food leads to an increased intake. "The researchers were based in the US, but many of the factors causing the obesity epidemic there are mirrored in the UK and, for those trying to control their weight, it is important to manage both how much and how often they eat."

BBC News - Snacking clue to obesity epidemic

 

[waltky]

High-fat diet can trigger Type 2 diabetes...

Fat 'disrupts sugar sensors causing type 2 diabetes'
14 August 2011 - US researchers say they have identified how a high-fat diet can trigger type 2 diabetes, in experiments on mice and human tissue.

Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they say that fat interferes with the body's sugar sensors. The authors argue that a deeper understanding of the processes involved could help them develop a cure. Diabetes UK said the study was interesting and a "theory worth investigating further". One of the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes is being overweight - rising obesity levels have contributed to a doubling of diabetes cases in the last 30 years.

Fat and sugar

Sugar in the blood is monitored by pancreatic beta cells. If sugar levels are too high then the cells release the hormone insulin, which tells the body to bring the levels back down. Key to this is the enzyme GnT-4a. It allows the cells to absorb glucose and therefore know how much is in the blood. Researchers at the University of California and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute say they have shown how fat disrupts the enzyme's production.

Experiments on mice showed that those on a high-fat diet had elevated levels of free fatty acids in the blood. These fatty acids interfered with two proteins - FOXA2 and HNF1A - involved in the production of GnT-4a. The result: fat effectively blinded cells to sugar levels in the blood and the mice showed several symptoms of type 2 diabetes. The same process also took place in samples of human pancreatic cells.

Lead researcher Dr Jamey Marth said: "The observation that beta cell malfunction significantly contributes to multiple disease signs, including insulin resistance, was unexpected." He suggested that boosting GnT-4a levels could prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes: "The identification of the molecular players in this pathway to diabetes suggests new therapeutic targets and approaches towards developing an effective preventative or perhaps curative treatment. "This may be accomplished by beta cell gene therapy or by drugs that interfere with this pathway in order to maintain normal beta cell function."

Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK, said: "This is a well-executed study into possible factors responsible for the events that lead to type 2 diabetes. "The researchers have linked their results in mice to the same pathways in humans and although they did not show they could prevent or cure type 2 diabetes they have shown it is a theory worth investigating further. "We will watch this with great interest and hope this early work will eventually lead to some benefit to people with type 2 diabetes."

BBC News - Fat 'disrupts sugar sensors causing type 2 diabetes'

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd startin' to put on weight, Granny says he catchin' it from his fat g/f's...

Obesity: The story so far
25 August 2011 - Why the world is putting on weight

The Lancet could not be clearer on the obesity problem: Action is needed - and needed now. The world-renowned medical journal has devoted a large chunk of this week's issue to the problem. A series of articles published by researchers from across the world are calling for more to be done. In effect, it is a call to arms for governments and society as a whole. But how did we get here and what is the solution?

No-one noticed at the time, but the 1960s was probably the turning point for what has become the obesity epidemic. As the world embraced the era of free love, they also began eating more. Although in truth, the foundations had probably already been laid during the first half of the 20th Century when people started using cars more and doing less physical jobs. But this was also accompanied by a decrease in food consumption because of shortages during and after the two world wars. By the swinging 60s the food chain had recovered and within a decade obesity started rising.

At first it was mainly limited to the rich countries, but today it is sweeping through low and middle-income countries as well. In fact, it is getting so bad that experts are beginning to question the ability of the individual to take responsibility for their own actions because of factors such as the increasing availability of cheap, fast food. Harry Rutter, of the National Obesity Observatory, says: "In practice it is easier for people to gain weight than to lose it. Increasing fatness is the result of a normal response, by normal people, to an abnormal situation."

'No country has escaped'