Scientists Pinpoint Childhood Obesity Genes - Child & Adolescent ...

Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren?s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOf Mice and MetaphorsOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim?

by By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter
Updated: Apr 9th 2012

SUNDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- For the first time, scientists have isolated mutations at two gene locations that seem to predispose children to becoming obese.

"We see a clear genetic signature to childhood obesity, showing that there is more than just an environmental component to this disease," Struan Grant, senior author of the research, said at an April 5 press conference.

Although known genes have been linked to adult obesity and also to extreme forms of childhood obesity, the newly identified genes confer only a modest risk of developing common childhood obesity. But they are "very common in the population," Grant added in a telephone interview.

Grant is associate director of the Center for Applied Genomics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. His research was published online April 8 in Nature Genetics.

Obesity has become a public health crisis of global proportions, affecting not only adults but also, increasingly, children.

"In the U.S., the prevalence of childhood obesity has tripled in recent decades and related health care costs have quadrupled," said Dr. Karen Winer, a program officer in the endocrinology, nutrition and growth branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which funded the study.

Clear environmental factors such as changing nutrition and reduced physical exercise have played a role in the childhood obesity crisis, but no genes had, until now, been identified.

The authors of this study pooled results from 14 genome-wide association studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe, involving a total of 5,530 children who were obese and 8,318 non-obese kids ("controls"), all of European descent.

This is the largest collection of DNA related to childhood obesity in the world, Winer said.

Obesity was defined as being above the 95th percentile in body mass index (a measurement that takes into account height and weight) while the healthy controls were all in the leaner half of the population.

When data was combined, two genes stood out: OLFM4 and HOXB5. The genes also showed signals in groups of extremely obese children.

And the genes were identifiable but weaker in adults, indicating that "these variants are conferring their risk early on in life and are really impactful in the first years of life," Grant said at the press conference.

Scientific literature to date indicates that the genes may be operating in the gut.

"We would look probably in that tissue area to see how it was conferring risk," Grant said at the press conference.

It's possible, for instance, that the genes may interact with food, he said.

Eric Schadt, chairman of the department of genetics and genomic sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, said: "Absolutely, this is a disease that has genetic components and very strong environmental components and likely very strong genetic-by-environmental components. It's very, very complicated. We're only scratching the surface of genetic determinations of childhood obesity."

Once scientists learn more about the genes and how they work, they may lead to new treatments, added Schadt, who was not involved with the study.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on childhood obesity.

This article: Copyright ? 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

black friday sales 2011 whitney duncan bradley cooper roger craig roger craig cadillac xts rambus