The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that more than 36 percent of the population of the United States is obese, placing a large bulk of Americans at risks of obesity-related conditions such as cancer, infertility, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes and heart diseases. Findings of a new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics Feb. 17 may hopefully do something about the growing obesity problem as researchers are triying to identify markers that could identify individuals at risk of the condition early on and target them for intervention.
In the study, "Appetite and Growth: A Longitudinal Sibling Analysis", the researchers followed 800 non-identical and same sex twins who were born between March 1, 2007, and Dec. 15, 2007 and examined how they respond to the sight and smell of food as well as how responsive they are to their body's fullness triggers.
The researchers found that the twin who was more responsive to food and took longer to feel full, gained more weight than the twin who was less responsive to food and was more easily sated, increasing risks for obesity. The results of the study also suggest that the desire to eat more may be genetic.
"Obesity is a major issue in child health," said Professor Jane Wardle, lead author of the study from the University College London Health Behaviour Research Centre. "Identifying factors that promote or protect against weight gain could help identify targets for obesity intervention and prevention in future. These findings are extremely powerful because we were comparing children of the same age and same sex growing up in the same family in order to reveal the role that appetite plays in infant growth."
Results of a related study, "Satiety Mechanisms in Genetic Risk of Obesity" also published in JAMA Pediatrics Feb. 17, showed that genetic may indeed play a crucial part in a person's risks to obesity. The researchers found that some children were more predisposed to larger body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference.
"As expected, we found that children with a higher PRS score (more 'obesity-risk' genetic variants) were likely to have larger BMI and waist circumference," said study author Clare Llewellyn, from the University College London Health's Behavior Research Centre. "But more importantly, we also found that these children were more likely to have low satiety responsiveness."
Researchers also suggested ways to mitigate obesity early in life.
"Children with lower satiety sensitivity could be taught techniques that might improve their fullness signals when eating, such as slowing their eating speed," Llewellyn said. "Another approach might be to provide better advice to parents and children about appropriate portion sizes, limiting access to 'second helpings' and ensuring tempting treats are out of sight between meals."
