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3 New Obesity Genes Found
Pennino Corp. CEO
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17/03/08 - Science & tech section
Scientists have discovered three further crucial genes behind the obesity epidemic.
Last year researchers found the first obesity gene, which increases the chance of becoming dangerously overweight by 70 per cent.
Three more have now been found.
Experts say they could lead to drugs designed to treat or even prevent the condition that blights the health of millions.
Scientists in Seattle announced yesterday, in a study published in the journal Nature, that the three genes, known as Lpl, Lactb and Ppm1l, all appear to promote weight gain, meaning doctors could attack them with drugs.
Doctors warned, however, that such a breakthrough is a long way in the future and that diet and exercise are still the only way to lose weight.
One in four British adults is classified as obese - so overweight that their health is in danger.
It is feared that the number could double by 2050 unless the obesity epidemic is checked.
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Teens who skip breakfast more likely to be obese
Teens Who Skip Breakfast More Likely to Be Obese, Study Says
By Nicole Ostrow
March 3 (Bloomberg) -- American teenagers who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese than those who eat a morning meal, according to a finding that researchers say may be linked to rising obesity among adolescents.
Teens that skipped the meal were five pounds heavier on average, ate less healthy during the day and exercised less frequently than those who ate breakfast, researchers reported in the journal Pediatrics. The study is the largest to follow the breakfast habits of teens over years and track whether they've become obese, researchers said.
The obesity rate for adolescents has tripled over the past 20 years, according to a 2007 report by the U.S. Surgeon General's Office. It's important to determine why the rate is growing because obesity has been linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma and diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aAyTBdCuTgWM&refer=home#
Is Obesity a bigger killer than terrorism?
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Obesity more dangerous than terrorism: experts
World governments focus too much on fighting terrorism while obesity and other "lifestyle diseases" are killing millions more people, an international conference heard Monday.
Overcoming deadly factors such as poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise should take top priority in the fight against a growing epidemic of preventable chronic disease, legal and health experts said.
Global terrorism was a real threat but posed far less risk than obesity, diabetes and smoking-related illnesses, prominent US professor of health law Lawrence Gostin said at the Oxford Health Alliance Summit here.
"Ever since September 11, we've been lurching from one crisis to the next, which has really frightened the public," Gostin told AFP later.
"While we've been focusing so much attention on that, we've had this silent epidemic of obesity that's killing millions of people around the world, and we're devoting very little attention to it and a negligible amount of money."
The fifth annual conference of the Oxford Health Alliance -- co-founded by Oxford University -- has brought together world experts from academia, government, business, law, economics and urban planning to promote change.
An estimated 388 million people will die from chronic disease worldwide over the next 10 years, according to World Health Organisation figures quoted by the alliance.
Read the rest of the article:
http://news.theage.com.au/world/obesity-more-dangerous-than-terrorism-experts-20080225-1umw.html