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Obesity has become an increasingly prevalent epidemic around the globe and especially in the United States. Obesity has numerous roots. Recently, researchers from the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics found that in some circumstances, it is possible to blame obesity not solely on genetic make-up, but rather on genetic make-up and socio-economic background combined. The McGill researchers discovered that the fat intake of a female who is a carrier of DRD4 VNTR with 7 repeats, a specific gene variant, is determined by the interaction of the female’s socio-economic environment with the gene. This gene variant affects about 20% of the population and is commonly related to obesity, especially in females. Males are typically not as affected by the gene because when comparing males and females at the same age, males do not typically show the same pattern of food preferences.
In order to research this topic, McGill researchers randomly selected about 200 Canadian children with an average age of 4 from the MAVAN birth cohort in Montreal, Quebec and Hamilton, Ontario to take place in the experiment. The McGill researchers used food diaries kept by the parents of every child in order to determine what was being eaten and how often the child was fed. The researchers were able to calculate the percentages of fat, protein, and carbohydrates the children were consuming, as well as the BMI of every child. Since the children were selected at random, the researchers tested every child for the gene variant using a saliva test. The researchers also analyzed the socio-economic background of every child and availability of particular foods based off of the family’s income.
Laurette Dubé, Scientific Director at this particular Centre at McGill and lead researcher on the study, analyzed the results. Dubé found that when comparing two females from the same socio-economic background, one with the gene variant and one without, the female with the gene variant had a higher fat intake, even though the two females came from the same socio-economic background. She also discovered that when comparing two females with the gene variant, one coming from a wealthy family and one coming from a poor family, the female coming from the poorer family had a higher fat intake, despite the fact the two females were both carriers of the gene variant. This newly found research led the McGill research team to believe that the gene alone does not determine an individual’s fat intake, but instead the gene causes an individual to be more sensitive to his or typically her environmental conditions that determine what are “good” eating patterns and what are “bad” eating patterns. Dr. Robert Levitan, co-invesitgator on the project, leader of the childhood obesity program of the MAVAN cohort, and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), is an expert on the DRD4 gene in adult female “overeaters”. Levitan said, “We previously assumed that the 7-repeat variant caused weight gain in these patients by increasing the rewarding aspects of certain foods. These new results suggest a different way that the gene might affect food choices” (Biology News).
In certain cases, obesity isn’t all about genetic make-up, but the likeliness of obesity is determined by the socio-economic background of an individual as well! So, if you are a carrier of the DRD4 VNTR with 7 repeats gene variant, which, because of your environment, impacts your decisions, is it really your choice to make better choices?
Source: Biology News
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