‘Obesity Gene’ May Fuel Kids’ Lust for Chips and Chocolate

Children with an “obesity gene” were more likely to stuff themselves with chocolate and potato chips than healthy snacks in the first study linking the gene to unhealthy cravings.
A Scottish study of 97 kids ages 4 to 10 found all ate about the same amount from a smorgasbord of carrots, cucumbers, raisins, chocolate, potato chips and cheese. Kids with a version of the so-called FTO gene that was discovered last year preferred the high-calorie sugary and fatty snacks, according to the study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“It’s not that one group ate carrots and the other group only ate crisps,” said Colin Palmer, the lead researcher, using the British term for potato chips. The group with the obesity gene variant gobbled more fats, carbohydrates and sweets and ended up consuming about 15 percent more calories than the other children, he said.

The finding could help the search for new obesity drugs. The FTO gene helps regulate an enzyme that might be a target for new medicines, Palmer said.

The study is the first to link the gene to a preference for unhealthy food, Palmer said. Another study published last year in the journal Science showed the gene boosted the risk of obesity and diabetes. That study didn’t determine whether the gene caused food preferences or regulated calorie burning.

“There’s no defect in metabolism,” Palmer said in a telephone interview yesterday, referring to the kids with the obesity gene version. “There’s not a lower metabolic rate. That’s not why people are becoming obese.”

Fat Destiny

A number of rare gene variants have been linked to obesity. The obesity gene variant in the study was found in more than 60 percent of people, according to last year’s study. That study also found 16 percent of people have copies of the gene from both parents, making them 67 percent more likely to be obese than those with no copies.

The gene doesn’t doom those with the gene to obesity, Palmer said.

“It doesn’t matter what your genotype is,” Palmer said. “If you control your eating behaviors, you should be able to maintain a healthy weight.”

For people with the obesity gene who “might find it hard to resist indulging in rich foods,” Palmer suggests exercise.

New, faster gene-scanning technology should accelerate the discovery of other genes involved in controlling appetite, diet and metabolism, Palmer said.