Article; Canada's chubbiest province be harbouring the secret to weight loss?

Newfoundlanders have long held the dubious distinction of being among
the heaviest-set people in Canada.

On average, the province has the highest body mass index in the
country, just ahead of the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia and PEI,
according to the most recent report by the Canadian Institute for
Health Information.

And Huang Sun is in the belly of the beast, so to speak, to uncover the
genetic mystery behind the disproportionate number of ample behinds.

It's clear that obesity is caused not only by environmental factors,
not only by what you eat and your physical activity levels Dr. Sun, a
geneticist at Memorial University in St. John's, said in a recent
interview. It also largely depends on your genes.
For that reason, it's the size of the Newfoundland's genes not the size
of its jeans that makes it the perfect place for Dr. Sun's research.

Geographically isolated from the rest of Canada, Newfoundland has seen
limited immigration. Most of the island's 500,000 residents can trace
their ancestry to the original 20,000 settlers.

Within this small gene pool, Dr. Sun hopes to find the secret to
slimness.

Obesity has become epidemic in North America Dr. Sun said, and other
countries are quickly catching up. We hope to find some basic genetic
factors.
Dr. Sun is looking for skinny genes, those that are more active in
people who have less body fat. He estimates that's just 20 per cent of
the population.

The hypothesis is that some people easily gain weight and some people
don't Dr. Sun said.

Dr. Sun needed volunteers suspected of having the skinny gene and
volunteers believed to be without it.

Around the campus, Dr. Sun has posted notices seeking two very
different types of people.

So far, he has 550 volunteers.

Less than one year into the study, he said he has compiled some
promising results.

Identifying such genetic triggers would allow doctors to diagnose a
predisposition to obesity in childhood and take preventative measures.

But there is also the potential for more lucrative, applications.

North Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on
diet books, medications, herbal supplements and anything else that
promises to battle the bulge.

If researchers find a way to turn on the genetic skinny switch, they
will certainly never go hungry again.

Wouldn't that be wonderful said Marlene Bayers, regional manager of
Weight Watchers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The more options available for people struggling with weight the
better, she said.

Still, she is wary of any quick fixes.

³People really would love to have a shortcut, understandably,² she
said. But ³behaviour still has to come into it.²

Marc Tremblay is a professor of kinesiology at the University of
Saskatchewan and one of the country's foremost experts on obesity.

³If we're looking for a quick fix or something over-the-counter that's
going to resolve the fact that we're not living the way that we've
evolved to live, I don't think those magic bullets are going to be easy
to find,² Tremblay said in a telephone interview.

Certainly there is a genetic element, he said.

But the fact that obesity has increased so dramatically in recent
decades is a strong argument that more than a gene-fix is needed.

³Certainly the human genome hasn't morphed in such a period,² Tremblay
said.

Understanding the genetic cause of obesity has potential. Anything that
helps reverse the huge problem has potential, he said.

Dr. Sun agrees that our environment is a big factor in the obesity
epidemic, but we all live in the same environment.

³Some people eat what they like to eat and aren't overweight,² he said.
³Others exercise and eat right and are overweight.²

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Diva
******
There is no substitute for the right food

Duh.... eat less exercise more!!!

"Carol Frilegh" wrote in

Within this small gene pool, Dr. Sun hopes to find the secret to
slimness.

Obesity has become epidemic in North America Dr. Sun said, and other
countries are quickly catching up. We hope to find some basic genetic
factors.
Dr. Sun is looking for skinny genes, those that are more active in
people who have less body fat. He estimates that's just 20 per cent of
the population.

The hypothesis is that some people easily gain weight and some people
don't Dr. Sun said.

Dr. Sun needed volunteers suspected of having the skinny gene and
volunteers believed to be without it.


--
Diva
******
There is no substitute for the right food