Obesity - A Genetic Predisposition?

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 Excessive body weight is something much of a concern. Obesity is when a person consumes more calories than the calories he is meant to burn. For simplicity, it means the increase in calorie intake and not burning it sufficiently to maintain your body's energy needs.


Obesity is caused because of - 

  • Lack of physical activity
  • Increase in calorie intake
  • Genetic predisposition
Recent studies have shown that there is a Genetic predominance in the Population. People who are fat in before the age of 2 and do not fit in the parameters of the growth charts, should take their genetic testing to check for obesity markers.
The markers that are used to check for obesity are -
  • Leptin Deficiency
  • POMC Deficiency
  • MC4R Deficiency
More commonly, people who have obesity have multiple genes that predispose them to gain excess weight. One such gene is the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO), which is found in up to 43% of the population.
The presence of this gene and other genes can cause:

  • Increased hunger levels
  • Increased caloric intake
  • Reduced satiety
  • Reduced control over eating
  • Increased tendency to be sedentary
  • Increased tendency to store body fat
Genes give the body instructions for responding to changes in its environment. Studies of resemblances and differences among family members, twins, and adoptees offer indirect scientific evidence that a sizable portion of the variation in weight among adults is due to genetic factors. Other studies have compared obese and non-obese people for variation in genes that could influence behaviors (such as a drive to overeat, or a tendency to be sedentary) or metabolism (such as a diminished capacity to use dietary fats as fuel, or an increased tendency to store body fat). These studies have identified variants in several genes that may contribute to obesity by increasing hunger and food intake. {Credits; CDC website}

But this is just a perspective of what can be done for genetic testing. Practically it is possible but the cost is not effective. There are times when genetic testing is advised, but there is no such point where it is done to diagnose Obesity. 
Generally obesity is diagnosed by checking the body mass index of the person, i,e, the relation if the person's body weight and its body height.

The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is universally expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres.

This is a reference chart for BMI values. You can check your BMI and categorise yourself how do you fit into the health categories.
CategoryBMI (kg/m2)BMI Prime
fromtofromto
Very severely underweight150.60
Severely underweight15160.600.64
Underweight1618.50.640.74
Normal (healthy weight)18.5250.741.0
Overweight25301.01.2
Obese Class I (Moderately obese)30351.21.4
Obese Class II (Severely obese)35401.41.6
Obese Class III (Very severely obese)401.6

BMI prime is a parameter which is calculated by the ratio of persons uppermost weight limit to the limit of healthy weight. A BMI prime of 0.7 - 1.00 is considered as an optimal condition for a person to stay healthy.

Different countries have different BMI ranges, for example - 

In Japan, the following table is the criteria for BMI and its different stages determined by a 2000 study from the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity:

CategoryBMI (kg/m2)
fromto
Low18.5
Normal18.525
Obese (Level 1)2530
Obese (Level 2)3035
Obese (Level 3)3540
Obese (Level 4)40
{Credits: Wikipedia}

Overweight and obese individuals are at an increased risk for the following diseases:

  • Coronary artery disease
  • Dyslipidemia
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Gallbladder disease
  • Hypertension
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Sleep apnea
  • Stroke
  • Infertility
  • At least 10 cancers, including endometrial, breast, and colon cancer
  • Epidural lipomatosis

Among people who have never smoked, overweight/obesity is associated with 51% increase in mortality compared with people who have always been a normal weight.'


PLEASE NOTE; ALL THESE ARE JUST INFORMATIVE THINGS.....

GENETIC TESTING OF OBESITY IS NOT RECOMMENDED BY US AND DO NOT GO ACCORDING TO THIS BLOG. THIS IS JUST AN INFORMATIVE ONE AND YOU CAN ACCESS YOURSELF ACCORDING TO THE CHARTS GIVEN; BUT WE DO NOT PROMOTE GENETIC TESTING AS IT IS A NEW THING AND WE COMPLETELY ARE NOT AWARE OF IT YET. RESEARCH IS IN PROGRESS.

Contact us  - @_uzumakisenpai_  @creativesparkblogs

Author - Dr. Yogiraj Karambelkar




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