British scientists examined 300 people who became severely obese at a young age. This research was done to determine whether a faulty gene was involved that may have caused them to become obese. Researchers were looking specifically at the gene in charge of the leptin receptor. Leptin is a hormone in the body that controls appetite and can influence how much we feel like eating. It has been formerly implicated in animal obesity studies.

Scientists studied the obese participants to see whether this so-called obesity gene was disturbed in any which way. They discovered that only 3 percent of people had an abnormal leptin gene — indicating that leptin is probably not a factor for most obese and overweight people. And scientists in New Zealand are dispelling the widespread myth that obesity is caused by “bad genes.”

In what is referred to as a burst through discovery, scientists from Auckland University’s Liggins Institute have found that genetic pre-disposition to fatness can be reversed through good quality nutrition in early childhood. Their studies shows that when a mother is undernourished, her child’s body is pre-set to cope with a life of scarcity-the energy-dense fast food diet of the Western world results in kids who are likely to become fat and obese. This is from poor diet and nutrition.

In laboratory tests, newborn offspring from both well-fed and undernourished rats were given leptin, a hormone that signals to the body when it has eaten enough. When they became adults, the long-term effects were measured by looking at genes that regulate metabolism in the liver. Rats from well-fed mothers reacted to leptin in the opposite way to those from undernourished mothers.

The scientists urge mothers to eat a more balanced diet. This includes the right amounts of protein and vitamins during the pregnancy period. However, if the fetus is malnourished in the womb, the long-term effects can still be corrected through high-quality nutrition.

So what’s the final word on all this? Is it our genes that make us easily gain weight which leads to becoming overweight or even obese or is it our behavior that shapes (and sculpts) our bodies? The most likely correct answer is: BOTH. You are born with a set of genes you cannot change. Some people can eat and eat and never gain a pound. Others can’t. But as the recent research is showing – you have much more control over the final outcome than most people are willing to take credit for. No matter your genetic make-up, you can choose to eat properly and exercise.

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