Dec 04 2009
We all know people struggling with weight issues. Maybe they’re overweight and can’t seem to lose the pounds no matter what new diet or exercise regime they try. Or, maybe they’re underweight and have a hard time bulking up no matter how many donuts they consume or weights they lift. Clearly, there’s more to your [...]
Sep 04 2009
Scientists who are studying mice with a mutation that makes them resistant to obesity even in the face of a high-fat diet may have identified a new way to treat both obesity and diabetes.
Carrying extra weight is known to trigger a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body, which can lead to insulin resistance [...]
Jun 26 2009
Not surprisingly, there has been intense interest in the genetics of obesity in recent years. Obesity is a major health problem, resulting in tens of thousands of premature deaths and billions of dollars in healthcare costs each year in the United States, and it is known from twin and family studies that weight is a [...]
Jun 18 2009
It’s no secret that obesity rates are rising — quickly. Between 2000 and 2005 the prevalence of obesity rose by 24%. Extreme obesity increased by more than 50%. If current trends continue, more than half of all Americans will be clinically obese by the year 2030.
Rapid changes in the prevalence of a disorder suggest that [...]
Dec 30 2008
Our SNPwatch posts here at The Spittoon are one of our most exciting features. They give our customers the opportunity to connect their genetic data to the newest discoveries, often within just hours of a study’s publication.
Looking ahead to 2009, we can only begin to imagine the exciting discoveries that will be made in [...]
Dec 16 2008
In the current issue of Nature Genetics, two teams of researchers identify nine new genetic locations associated with obesity. Almost all of them are within or close to genes that are expressed in the brain, especially the part that regulates appetite.
“This underscores the importance of genes that regulate food intake over those involved in metabolism,” [...]
Dec 11 2008
SNPwatch gives you the latest news about research linking various traits and conditions to individual genetic variations. These studies are exciting because they offer a glimpse into how genetics may affect our bodies and health; but in most cases, more work is needed before this research can provide information of value to individuals. For that [...]
Oct 16 2008
Although obesity was seen as a sign of social status during the Renaissance, it’s been known since long before then that being overweight is actually unhealthy. We all know that carrying around extra pounds increases the risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, yet one out of three Americans is obese.
New research, [...]
Oct 16 2008
SNPwatch gives you the latest news about research linking various traits and conditions to individual genetic variations. These studies are exciting because they offer a glimpse into how genetics may affect our bodies and health; but in most cases, more work is needed before this research can provide information of value to individuals. For that [...]
Sep 30 2008
SNPwatch gives you the latest news about research linking various traits and conditions to individual genetic variations. These studies are exciting because they offer a glimpse into how genetics may affect our bodies and health; but in most cases, more work is needed before this research can provide information of value to individuals. For that [...]
