some of the children were much more responsive to the cookies

The University College of London recently undertook a fascinating study where mothers were asked to offer their children cookies about an hour after eating a normal meal when they were watching a DVD and to measure exactly how many cookies were consumed. At the same time the researchers had analysed the genetic DNA of the children to see if they had versions of the FTO gene which has been linked to high rates of obesity.

The children who took part in the study were of the ages of thirteen and fourteen and the researchers were keen to see whether the children recognised whether they were full up after eating a good meal. The results showed that some of the children were much more responsive to the cookies than others were and these children were much more likely to have the obesity FTO gene.

Jane Wardle who is the director of Cancer Research UK’s Health Behaviour Research Centre and who led the study explained that some children clearly did not know when to stop eating and this could lead to a lifetime problem of obesity if it was not dealt with. The researchers also tried to establish a link between the FTO gene and the level of interest that the same group of children showed in getting exercise, but this research was inconclusive.

The research which is published in the International Journal of Obesity was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and adds to the weight of evidence which shows that it is possible to have an ‘obesity gene’. However before you go running off and believing that your weight problem is to do with your genes you should remember that many people who have the obesity FTO gene are perfectly thin and healthy and that there are also many people who don’t have the gene who are overweight or obese.