The Truth About The Genetics Of Obesity.

Evolutionary selection favored those who became fat easily. That's the essence of the "thrifty gene hypothesis". It's like Madonna. On the wrong side of 50, and ripe to be dethroned by something with greater sex appeal. In this case the contender's name is the "drifty gene hypothesis". Here is why you shouldn't be too dazzled about it. [tweet this].    

Exactly 50 years ago, Neel suggested that the high rate of diabetes in our society is the result of  evolutionary selection which favored those of our ancestors whose genes made them store fat more efficiently during periods of food abundance [1]. It's such a marvelously simple explanation that it doesn't take the brains of an Einstein to chatter about it at any dinner party where one wants to be remembered as quite the hobby geneticist. But to every party there is a party pooper. In this case two of them. John R. Speakman and Klaas R. Westerterp are telling us that the high prevalence rate of obesity and diabetes actually disproves the thrifty gene hypothesis [2].

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What Infants Teach Us About Preventing Obesity.

Public health has been telling you for years: you are fat because you move too little and eat too much. And yes, it's your fault if you don't break a sweat every day to keep your waist line in check. But research says, that's not the entire truth. In fact, public health might have taken the easy way out, and here is how it could finally make amends. [tweet this].

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