new obese gene discovered

People with two copies of a particular gene have a 70% bigger risk of being obese than those who do not carry the gene, scientists have revealed.

This means that there could be a genetic link to obesity according to the research carried out by the Peninsula Medical School and Oxford University and published in Science.

The study of 40,000 people showed that carriers of the two copies could weigh, on average, three kilos more.

But this doesn't mean that we don't need to look after ourselves. A good lifestyle is still the best way to control weight, but some will have a genetic reason for finding it more difficult to shift the pounds.

The gene, FTO was identified in research into type two diabetes which is associated with obesity.

They found that people with type two diabetes were more likely to have a particular variant of the FTO gene, which is also linked to increased body weight.

The variant making people fatter differed from the other version of the FTO gene by a single mutation in the DNA sequence.

People carrying one FTO variant had a 30% increased risk of being obese compared to someone who does not have that version.

But those carrying two copies of the variant had a 70% increased risk of being obese, and were on average 3kg heavier than a similar person with no copies.

Professor Andrew Hattersley of the Peninsula Medical School said this could explain why two people can seem to eat the same things and do the same amount of exercise yet one may struggle to lose weight more than the other.

The authors say their work, funded by the Wellcome Trust, could improve understanding of obesity and eventually help prevent it, as well as an illness it is linked to