The Perfect Excuse

Overweight people pay attention: you now have the perfect excuse for being obese: scientists found a ‘fat gene’.

A gene that contributes to obesity has been identified for the first time, promising to explain why some people easily put on weight while others with similar lifestyles stay slim.

People who inherit one version of the gene rather than another are 70 per cent more likely to be obese, British scientists have discovered. One in six people has the most vulnerable genetic make-up and weighs an average 3kg more than those with the lowest risk. They also have 15 per cent more body fat.

The findings provide the first robust link between a common gene and obesity, and could eventually lead to new ways of tackling one of the most significant causes of ill health in the developed world. One in four British adults is classified as obese, and half of men and a third of women are overweight.

So: not to worry. It is not your fault. Stop blaming yourself, now. Those three megaburgers a day don’t have anything to do with it!

Common sense, of course, would dictate something very simple: if you put weight on more easily than other people do… don’t eat as much as they do. Eat less.

Cross posted at my own blog.