Diabetes Health in the News: Weight-Loss Efforts Not Affected by Obesity Gene

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A new study has found that the presence of the “obesity gene” doesn’t impact a person’s ability to lose weight. This includes weight-loss efforts in the form of exercise, diet, or weight-loss medications.

British researchers have found that individuals with the FTO gene had the same response to weight-loss strategies as people without the gene. This conclusion came after studying the weight loss strategies of 10,000 participants, some of whom had the gene. Participants with the FTO gene did have higher starting weights than their counterparts, but they had the same level of success when they tried to lose weight.

Obesity is a growing public health concern across the globe. However, findings suggest that environment may play a larger part in weight management than genetic makeup.

These findings were published in the British Medical Journal on September 20, 2016.