3500 Kcal per Pound

I am always amazed by the "researchers" seeking genes for obesity. Seek and ye shall find. You can find a gene for anything. But as we have said over and again, 3500 Kcal equals a pound, almost always. You eat too much you get fat. Simple. Why we are wasting money studying this in a genetic manner befuddles me. In a recent piece they state:

A large international study has identified three new gene variants associated with body mass index (BMI) levels in adults. The scientific consortium, numbering approximately 200 researchers, performed a meta-analysis of 46 studies, covering gene data from nearly 109,000 adults, spanning four ethnic groups....

The researchers uncovered three novel signals, from the genes TOMM40-APOE-APOC1, SREBF2 and NTRK2) that were significantly associated with BMI in adults. All had previously been linked to other important disorders. The APOE locus is well known to be involved in blood lipid regulation and circulation, and plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease. The SREBF2 gene is in the same family as SREBF1, linked to type 2 diabetes in another CardioChip study. Finally, NTRK2 codes for a receptor of the BDNF protein, which is known to be related to BMI and is associated with the eating disorder anorexia....

Guo concluded that "while the individual effects of each gene may be small, they may provide fundamental clues to the biology of adult obesity." He added that further studies will investigate gene-gene interactions for the same trait.

Stop in a fast food restaurant and what does one see, volumes of food, obese people. What effect does any gene have in general, none. It is input, less output, equals net accumulation. The individual effects are indeed small, it is the over consumption. It is the massive plate size, the pile of french fries, the shakes. One need just wait on line at a super market and see the morbidly obese food stamp recipients adding more to our health care burden. This is a real problem and trying to hide it in the genes if creating an excuse for an epidemic. Cancer is genetic in many aspects, why no spend time and money there. Why spend a single penny on obesity genes when we know the answer.