Funmurphys: the Blog

The Skinny On the Skinny Gene

The good news is that yes indeed there is a gene that can keep you skinny. The bad news is that a therapy utilizing it is 10 years away.

Khosrow Adeli, professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Toronto and Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, who studies obesity, called the most recent finding an important one.

"Many of the genes we have found so far appear to promote obesity," he said. "This one appears to basically control it."

However, multiple factors are involved in obesity, including metabolism, fat cells, liver, and most recently, the brain, Prof. Adeli said.

"We certainly are going to see more of these similar discoveries to fully understand all of the factors involved," he said, adding that it's more difficult to design drugs that increase, rather than inhibit, something.

"If one can devise a way to increase activity of this adipose [gene], then it can certainly be very helpful in treating cases of obesity."

Until then, I'll be eating whole grain barley for breakfast.

Hey, I'm not overweight, I just don't provide enough stimulation for my adipose gene.