William Atkins
Wednesday, 10 September 2008 23:24
Science -
Health
Page 2 of 3
The research, led by Dr. Rampersaud, was performed to find out if people genetically possessing the mass and obesity-associated (gene) gene variants (FTO)—and, thus, associated with a high body mass index (
BMI) and obesity—can be controlled with physical exercise.
Specifically, the study studied whether these "obesity genes" are associated with Old Order Amish (OOA) individuals, and whether those OOA individuals with the FTO variants (prone to obesity) can lessen their chances of obesity with physical exertion.
The researchers studied 704 healthy Old Order Amish adults, who had been previously selected from the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (
HAPI) Heart Study.
The Study consisted of data from physical activity of these individuals and from the testing (genotyping) of 92 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, a DNA sequence variation that occurs between members of a species) in FTO.
The American researchers also recorded the daily movements of these Amish participants with accelerometers (devices that monitor distances). The high-activity Amish subjects were physically active six to nine hours each day, while the low-activity Amish subjects were active three to hour hours each day.
Rampersaud and her team concluded that the increased risk of obesity due to the
“genetic susceptibility by FTO variants can be blunted through physical activity.”
How do the Amish compare with the average American with the number of steps walked each day? Please read page three.
