By studying the eating habits of almost 1,200 pigs, Danish researchers have found evidence that humans may be genetically predisposed to overeating.
Study author Haja Kadarmideen, a health and medical science professor at the University of Copenhagen, said his team wanted to learn why some of us seem more predisposed to reaching for the cookie jar. They chose to study pigs because they are a well-known model for studying human obesity due to similar genomes and digestive systems between the two species.
“Why do some humans have a compulsive or comforting behavior to overeat, while others have control over their eating habits?” he asked. “Is it behavioral, for example when we are stressed or happy or sad, or are we genetically programmed to seek more food than we need?”
With the assistance of the Pig Research Centre from the Danish Agriculture and Food Council, scientists monitored their pigs’ eating habits while tracking their weight gain. The researchers also used genomic chip technology to create a genetic profile at 60,000 locations within the entire genome of each pig.
“We linked this whole genomic profile and eating behavior observations on all pigs via genome wide association studies to detect eating behavior genes – a big task equivalent to finding polar bears in a snowstorm,” Kadarmideen said.
According to their report, published in the journal PLoS ONE, the Danish team found large differences in the pigs’ eating habits, with animals with certain genetic variants regularly overeating. The researchers said there was clear evidence these pigs were genetically programmed to eat more than others.
“This is the first study in the world looking at pig to human comparative genetic mapping to reveal key genes on the human genome (e.g. on chromosomes 6 and 17) that are known to be involved in human obesity and some new genes; together they may explain why we crave for (more and sometimes unhealthy) food and why some of us overeat, so consequently developing obesity and diabetes, both of which are key societal and public health problems,” Kadarmideen said.
The researchers said a simple blood test could eventually be used to determine if someone is susceptible to unhealthy eating habits.
More: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112965915/humans-predisposed-pigging-out-overeating-100313/