Why Are We Fat? Lambs Provide Tasty Link to Understanding Obesity
As obesity rates have climbed in America over the last two decades to alarming levels, scientists have attempted to unravel the mystery of its causes. Are Americans eating too much? Exercising too little? Is it the use of high fructose corn syrup? Is it genetics? A combination of those and more? There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on the mysterious causes for our expanding waists and protruding guts.
A new study published today in The Journal of Physiology, shows a solid link between maternal and offspring obesity in mammals bearing ‘mature offspring.’
In simple terms, if the mother is obese there stands to be a good chance that the kid will also be obese from birth. Darn genetics.
Of course, this isn’t an excuse to go slurp down a super-sized Coke and a Big Mac because of good genetics, but it does suggest that people with obese genetics will struggle to control it throughout their lives.
The study was conducted by a group of researchers, led by Peter Nathanielsz, from the Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Research at the University of Texas and the University of Wyoming.
For 60 days before conception and throughout their pregnancy, researchers fed sheep either a normal diet or one intended to produce obesity. The appetite and weight gain of their offspring were then monitored for another 19 months.
“We propose that cortisol prepares fetal adipose tissue to secrete leptin – and that this process seems to be disrupted in lambs born to obese mothers. The nutrient excess present in the blood of obese mothers throughout gestation seems to inhibit the post-natal leptin peak – which likely has important consequences for the development of the lamb.”
Something, something, science talk that is nearly impossible to understand.
Something, something, the importance of these results.
“Seeing these hormonal change in lambs, in addition to what we have already found with rodents, is advancing our understanding of what programmes appetite. We are getting closer to understanding what causes obesity in humans.” concluded Nathanielsz.
There it is! Of course, this will be just one factor of many related to understanding the puzzle that is obesity. Sadly, the researchers did not reveal whether or not the diet intended to produce obese offspring also resulted in tastier lollipop lamb chops.
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