Gene variations police the storage of fat
With high-calorie foods at every turn, obesity is rampant in the Western world. Some people, however, just don’t seem to get fat even if they try to put on pounds.
Researchers may have found out why. They’ve uncovered genetic variations controlling a calorie-draining spigot in the body. The variations modulate production of a molecule called uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), which converts calories into heat instead of fat.
Four years ago, scientists identified the gene that encodes UCP2 (SN: 4/8/97, p. 142). Since then, researchers have been looking for variations in the gene to help explain obesity, says geneticist Eric Ravussin of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He’s worked extensively on the genetics of the Pima Indians of Arizona, who have some of the highest rates of obesity in the world (SN: 8/12/95, p. 103).