Word: rampersaud
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Dates: during 2008-2008
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...Soren Snitker at the University of Maryland and his postdoctoral fellow, Evadnie Rampersaud, who is now at the University of Miami, the team studied 704 Amish men and women. Although the Amish are a genetically homogeneous group, the study of volunteers' genotypes still showed a genetic diversity that reflected the makeup of the general Caucasian population: Specifically, they exhibited a range of variations on the FTO gene, which previous studies have associated with obesity and high body mass index, or BMI. Experts say about half of all people of European descent possess at least one "heavy" variant...
...researchers also discovered a subgroup of volunteers who had two copies of the heavy FTO variant, but still managed to avoid being fat. Their simple trick? Exercise. Rampersaud found that the most physically active men and women in the study were able to stay within a normal BMI range, despite their genetic predisposition; other people with the same gene variants, who were relatively inactive, were overweight. "This is the first time that we can show the direct gene-environment interaction for a gene related to obesity," Rampersaud says. "It re-emphasizes the role that physical activity plays in our daily...
There's a hitch. The people who successfully overrode their genes were burning a stunning 900 kilocalories more per day than their less active counterparts, which amounted to three to four hours of moderate exercise daily. "That's a lot," acknowledges Rampersaud, who tracked participants' physical activity for seven days using accelerometers. By contrast, the volunteers in the "low" activity group were doing about two to three hours of gardening, housework or brisk walking each day. That's the kind of activity many people in the general American population - which, unlike the Amish, relies on cars and dishwashers and washing...
...what exact degree physical activity can influence the effect of the FTO gene isn't clear yet, but, says Rampersaud, at least we now know that genes - especially the "wrong" genes - don't necessarily spell out destiny when it comes to weight. And that's a useful lesson to keep in mind when making small daily decisions - taking the stairs instead of the elevator, say, or passing up a dessert. Every little bit can make a difference...
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