Aishwarya Iyer
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Written By: Aishwarya Iyer | Updated : September 7, 2018 9:21 AM IST
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Have you often wondered why you and your siblings are obese in spite of not having a very bad lifestyle? You make the right choices yet don't seem to shed those extra kilos? May be you should blame the gene you inherited from your dad.
According to a new study, we inherit the gene responsible for obesity from our fathers while we take all the good from our mothers. A team of researchers, led by Professor Jan-Wilhelm Kornfeld from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Elena Schmidt from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany and Martin Bilban from the Medial University, Vienna, Austria made this seemingly path-breaking discovery about obesity.
The team discovered a novel function of a gene named H19. This gene provides a protective effect against the development of overweight and its associated disease such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The study found that we inherit the white fat tissue, found in stomach, thighs and the back from our fathers. This can lead to metabolic diseases.
Moreover, we inherit that brown fat tissue from our mothers which help us in providing protection against obesity.
By using mouse models, we have identified that the gene H19 performs a form of gene control in brown fat cells. We have been able to demonstrate that an over-expression of the H19 gene in mice protects against obesity and insulin resistance. In addition, we have been able to detect similar patterns of gene control in obese people. We therefore believe that our results can be the first step towards developing groundbreaking new and improved treatments for obesity-related diseases, said Professor Jan-Wilhelm Kornfeld reportedly.
