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Are Genetics Simply Another Reason To Explain Obesity?

Gastric bypass surgery is proving to be a lifesaver for a growing number of individuals as obesity continues to sweep across much of the western world but its greatest problem lies in the fact that a significant number of individuals either fail to lose enough weight after surgery or subsequently regain much of the weight which is lost.

There are naturally a number of explanations for this failure to lose weight or to regain weight and top of the list in without doubt the fact that all too many people simply find it too hard to make the lifestyle adjustments necessary after surgery and eat themselves back into obesity. However, researchers have now discovered a genetic component which may account for some people's failure to lose weight after a gastric bypass.

In a recent study involving more than 700 severely obese individuals blood samples were tested for two single nucleotide polymorphisma (SNPs). In layman's terms a SNP is a human DNA sequence, variations in the pattern of which might indicate the way in which individuals will develop diseases and respond to things like drugs and vaccines. Without looking at the details of this particular study which are more than a little complicated, the researchers found that just under twenty percent of the people studied showed a combination of specific SNPs which indicate they are at risk of not simply failing to lose weight after weight loss surgery, but may actually be at risk of putting on weight.

The difficulty we face now is not chiefly that of finding a solution for those individuals who are suffering from obesity, but of preventing obesity to start with and this is essentially a matter of education. There is no question that a small number of individuals are prone to obesity and genetics and similar factors may play a role in this. However, by far the majority of the obesity we see these days arises out of little more than poor eating habits and a lack of sufficient exercise.

However, the real problem is that once people have reached it is simple human nature to try to find any reason for their excessive weight which removes that guilty feeling brought on by the fact that they may just have created the problem themselves. What better excuse could you hand somebody than to tell them that their weight problem is genetic.

This is not to say that research into SNPs is not valid or to say that there is not a genetic component to the failure to lose weight or to gain weight after weight loss surgery. However, the danger is to release this information at too early a stage in the research process and to simply hand individuals yet another excuse for not tackling their obesity at a time when obesity is at epidemic levels and more importantly is increasingly being seen in very young children.

Scientific research is important and must be given its proper place in the scheme of things but we have to be careful to ensure that it does not divert us from the need to tackle obesity by educating individuals to change their eating habits and take more exercise.

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