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Could the overweight pandemic end? Scientists at the University of Virginia have identified 17 genes that can cause or prevent overweight.
According to a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics , the researchers used nematode worms of the species ‘Caenorhabditis elegans’ who share 70% of their genes with humans.
The analysis revealed that there are 14 genes that cause obesity versus 3 that help fight it. Ironically, when scientists blocked the activity of genes that prevented weight gain, the worms lived longer.
Several genetic combinations that obese people generally have already been identified, it has not yet been shown how the genes act in the development of the disease as such.
“We hope that our approach and the new genes we have discovered will speed up the development of treatments to reduce the burden of obesity,” said Eyleen O’Rourke, one of the study’s authors who noted that good treatment for obesity “is urgently needed”. relieving both patients and health systems.
According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the countries with the highest obesity rates among their populations are the United States (38.2%), Mexico (32.4% ) and New Zealand (30.7%).
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