Posts Tagged ‘genetics’

Epigenetics & Obesity – Obesity Research Update #3

July 16th, 2008

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have made a groundbreaking discovery – Overweight moms give birth to children who become even more overweight and who in turn have children who become even more overweight and so on and so on.

Damn!

Maybe I have been wrong all these years. Maybe our body composition is determined by our DNA.

Nope.

According to this study, researchers found that by supplementing an obese mother’s diet with folic acid and other methyl supplements, they were able to reverse this form of inherited obesity.”

The Hypothesis

Lead researcher, Dr. Robert Waterland, designed this study to test the hypothesis that maternal obesity before and during pregnancy affects the body weight regulatory mechanisms in her offspring.

In layman’s terms, does a fat mom produce fat babies?

In regards to reversing this cycle of inherited obesity, Dr. Waterland believes that “DNA methylation may play an important role in the development of the hypothalamus (the region of the brain that regulates appetite).”

The Method

Waterland et al tested this hypothesis on three generations of genetically identical mice, all with the same genetic tendency to overeat. (agouti viable yellow [Avy] mice)

The mice were divided into two groups:

  1. Standard diet group
  2. Standard diet supplemented with folic acid, vitamin B12, betaine and choline. This special ‘methyl supplemented’ diet enhances DNA methylation.

Sorry about that. You don’t have to worry about nerd terms like DNA methylation, there won’t be a test at the end of this post.

What they were attempting to do was to reduce or silence the effect that the inherited gene had over the development of the baby mice.

Can mice that are genetically predisposed to obesity be spared from a life of stretchy pants and motorized scooters?

The Results

The mice on the standard diet piled on the body-fat, as expected, and subsequent generations were progressively more obese.

Those on the methyl supplemented diet did not gain weight through successive generations.

So what does this mean to me?

Well, according to Dr. Waterland, “the effect of methyl supplementation on body weight was independent of epigenetic changes at the Avy locus, indicating this model may have direct relevance to human transgenerational obesity”.

OR

This treatment could be safely adapted for human trials and could potentially provide a cure for inherited pediatric obesity.

Please note that this is one study, performed on mice. This doesn’t mean that moms-to-be should start mega-dosing supplements in order to produce babies with six packs.

Let the geeks do their work.

First come the scientific human trials. Then come the drug company trials. Then come the drugs and/or supplements.

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Why is America so Fat??? – In Utero Big Macs

July 1st, 2008

New research shows that moms who eat junk food (a diet high in sugar, fat and salt) doom their kids to a life of obesity, high blood sugar, high levels of circulating insulin, high triglycerides and/or cholesterol.

I knew it, it’s all my mom’s fault.

It’s always the mom’s fault. Not enough love. Too much love. Breastfeeding. Not breastfeeding. Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy…

Now this.

Just kidding, sort of.

This study, led by Stéphanie A Bayol, showed that a “maternal junk food diet promotes adiposity in offspring and brings on the earlier onset of hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and/or hyperlipidemia”.

Even when the Big Mac eating mama’s kids (fyi, these were rat babies – it just seems that human moms have become a little reluctant to expose their unborn children to cigarette smoke, toxic chemicals and twinkies all in the name of science) were switched over to the “healthy” rat chow, they still had excess body-fat and enlarged fat cells.

Luckiest of all were the Big Mac eatin’ girl rats, who showed significantly higher levels of IGF-1, IRS-1, VEGF-A, PPARã, leptin, adiponectin, adipsin, LPL, Glut 1, and Glut 3 mRNA expression than their non-twinkie eating sisters. The male chalupa eaters got off easier. They showed elevated levels of only IRS-1, VEGF-A, Glut 4 and LPL, when compared to their carrot eating brothers.

The study’s authors concluded that, “a maternal junk food diet promotes adiposity in offspring and the earlier onset of hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and/or hyperlipidemia. Male and female offspring also display a different metabolic, cellular and molecular response to junk-food-diet induced adiposity”.

What does this mean?

First off, I was kidding about everything being mom’s fault – Mom’s have it hard enough without this kind of guilt being dumped in their laps.

However, this study shows that the 9 month gestational period has an enormous effect on the rest of the baby’s life. When a mom-to-be succumbs to the lure of the Golden Arches, she may be setting her unborn child up for a lifetime of obesity, health problems, societal stigma, stress, depression, etc…

The list goes on and on.

To avoid these problems, I have to come back to my mantra – Eat a healthy diet of high quality protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables.

Here are some links - here, here, here and here.

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The Science behind Spare Tires and Thunder Thighs

June 13th, 2008

Why is it that some people store their body-fat around their middle while others store it on their thighs and bottom?

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Your doctor will tell you that your genetics predisposes you to be either an “apple” or a “pear” when it comes to your body-fat distribution.

So what kind of fruit are you?

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Generally speaking, women typically collect fat in their hips and buttocks, giving their figures a “pear” shape. In medical terms, this fat distribution pattern is referred to as gynecoid.

Men, on the other hand, usually collect fat around the belly, giving them more of an “apple” shape. In medical terms, this fat distribution pattern is referred to as android.

And before anything gets cute, we’re not talking about the Terminator type of android obesity, more the Fat Bastard type of android obesity

Keep in mind, this is not an absolute. Some men are pear-shaped and some women become apple-shaped, particularly after menopause.

Health Effects of Fat Distribution Patterns

To put it bluntly, apple-shaped people are more likely to develop many of the health problems associated with obesity. They are at increased health risk because of their fat distribution.

While obesity of any kind is a health risk, it is better to be a pear than an apple.

For a more thorough discussion of the health implications of being an apple or a pear, click here.

So What Makes Someone an Apple or a Pear?

On all of your fat cells, you have hormone receptors which are designed to accept specific types of hormones.

When it comes to weight loss and your fat cells, we are concerned with the adrenoreceptors designed to accept adrenaline and noradrenaline.

(To complicate things further, some scientists call adrenaline – epinephrine and nor adrenaline – nor epinephrine).

Think of the receptor as a lock and the hormone as a key.

Of all of the different types of hormone receptors, fat cells have only two – Alpha 2 (A2) and Beta 1 (B1).

B1s are the good guys.

B1 receptors activate lipase (the enzyme that breaks down fat). Lipase causes your fat cells to break down the stored fat into fatty acids and glycerol to be used as energy throughout your body.

This fat breakdown procedure is initiated when B1s hormone receptors link up with the key hormone noradrenaline.

(Adrenaline could also set off this procedure, but your body-fat lacks the major arteries and veins that adrenaline needs to travel in – sorry)

On the other hand, your A2 receptors are the bad guys. Their job is not only to keep fat inside the cell, but to encourage the formation of new fat into the cell.

As a special bonus, they decrease the body’s generation of noradrenaline.

Even better, when you go on a low calorie diet, you are increasing the number of A2 receptors.

Doesn’t sound good does it?

But this still doesn’t answer why my love handles / butt / etc… is fatter than the rest of my body.

OK, here goes

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Why Apples are Apples and Pears are Pears

  • Problem area fat cells have very few B1 receptors. This means they do not release much stored fat – diet or not.
  • Problem area fat cells have lots of A2 receptors. And that number grows when you diet.

This means that a typical yo-yo dieter is actually making their problem areas much more stubborn every time he/she jumps on and off the diet bandwagon.

So what do I do NOW?

STOP DIETING – Microwaved diet entrees are not the answer.

START EATING HEALTHY… Fruits…Vegetables…Lean Protein…Nuts & Seeds…Fish

To start eating healthy, click here, here, here and here.

To start moving healthy, click here, here, here, and here.

In the meantime, be aware that lots and lots of lab coat wearing scientists are working night and day to discover the perfect A2 receptor antagonist – that perfect pill that will block the Noradrenaline key from fitting into the A2 receptor lock.

And when they do, you can go back to eating cheesecake.

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Nutrition, Environment and Epigenetics

May 5th, 2008

Genetics is Not Destiny.

I truly believe that. I have to believe that.

As a kid, I was always ‘husky’.

Through research, discipline and hard work, I was able to transform my body from fat to fit.

During the past 19 years, I have given my knowledge and perhaps more importantly, my confidence in that knowledge to the people that came to me and asked me to help them re-shape their bodies.

While most of them already knew what they had to do to become physically fit; they just couldn’t do it.

But they had seen their friends / my clients sculpt lean, strong, fit bodies out of the over-sized lumps of clay that they had previously called home.

So they came to me for the secret. Even after I told them there was no secret, and even after I had helped them transform their own bodies, most of them believed that I was responsible for their transformations.

Years of being fat and out of shape had become normal for them. They were fat. Even when they had lost the weight, there was still this little voice in the back of their heads telling them that this was just temporary. If they stopped working with me, they would re-gain their original shape.

It was their genetics.

How wrong they may have been.

Ever since Darwin’s Survival of the Fittest theory of evolution became accepted as truth, genetics and in particular our DNA has shaped the progress of human biology.

Science searched for a genetic answer to every human ailment. It even spawned a genetic ‘gold rush’ called the Human Genome Project.

But recently, that absolute faith in genetics as fate has been shaken. So

Epigenetics.

Epigenetics looks at the impact our environment has upon our genetic coding.

How is it that one identical twin can develop cancer while the other twin does not?

Was the life-long smoking habit of one of the identical twins responsible for their diagnosis of cancer? Did the healthy lifestyle of the second twin prevent their potential diagnosis of cancer?

While the science is still new, I think down deep, we all know that how we live our lives has a strong impact on our health.

Where we live. Our friendships, or lack thereof. The air we breathe. The water we drink. The amount and type of exercise we perform. The food we eat.

Nature v.s. Nurture.

Bruce Lipton is currently the biggest ‘name’ in Epigenetics. The following two video clips serve as an introduction to Lipton and the science behind Epigenetics.

Like most scientific endeavours, epigentics seems to result in more questions being raised rather than answering the ones that we already have.

For those interested, I will report back with new & interesting research into this field of science and how it applies to health & nutrition.

Remember, genetics is not destiny.

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Genetics & Obesity

April 14th, 2008

The American Society for Addiction Medicine held their annual conference in Toronto this past weekend. One of the attendees, Dr. Carolyn Ross spoke about the link between human genetics and obesity. In an interview with a local radio station, 680 News, Dr. Ross said that “70 per cent of obesity is genetic”.

Dr. Ross hopes that this linkage between obesity and genetics will ‘take away some of the stigma and shame associated with obesity’.

A related newspaper article appeared in this past Sunday’s Toronto Star. In this article, the link between anorexia nervosa and human genetics was discussed. In this article, the point was made that over the past 30 years, the rate of anorexia has remained unchanged while the rate of bulimia has risen sharply. The point being made here is that while bulimia may indeed be driven by a societal demand for thinness, anorexia may be driven by a genetic flaw.

While research into a genetic cause of anorexia (or bulimia, binge eating, etc) is only in it’s infancy, “results of the first genetic studies, released in the past five years, reveal that genetic vulnerability for anorexia nervosa lies on chromosome 1 of the 24 chromosomes that make up the human genome”.

So what do we take from this?

If Dr. Ross is correct and genetics has a huge impact on obesity, do we ignore the smaller role of our own behaviour? If you knew that you had inherited a genetic propensity towards obesity, do you give up trying to eat a healthy diet and engage in physical exercise? Do you wait for science to come up with a genetic cure?

While I agree with Dr. Ross that the social stigma attached to obesity is cruel and thoughtless ( if there is a genetic component to both obesity & cancer, why is it acceptable to mock the obese but not a cancer patient?), obese individuals still have to accept responsibility for their own health.

For every person who was born with a congenital leptin deficiency, there are thousands upon thousands of obese individuals who have a simple genetic predisposition towards obesity. A PREDISPOSITION.

Genetics is not Destiny.

Learn how to keep your body healthy, learn how to train your body to overcome cravings, eat well, exercise, and make the most with the genetic hand that you were dealt.

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