Who loves desserts puts on less weight: the secret is in a gene

Who loves desserts would have a tendency to gain less weight and the merit would be of a gene. Fans of sugary foods, in fact, would accumulate less fat thanks to the variation of a gene responsible for a lower tendency to increase the fat. But you should not exaggerate, anyway!

This is what emerges from a study conducted by the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom, which highlighted the variation of a gene, the so-called "FGF21", linked precisely to the passion for desserts.

Analyzing the data of 500,000 UK citizens included in the UK Biobank, a database aimed at encouraging the prevention, the diagnosis and the treatment of certain diseases by providing data for population-based research, researchers have found many associations between the presence of the gene and the health of people.

The hormone FGF21, which is produced mainly in the liver, has multiple functions; it acts on the hypothalamus of the brain to suppress the intake of sugar and alcohol, it stimulates the upgrade of glucose by adipose cells and it acts as a sensitizer of insulin. The analysis showed that although "version A" of the FGF21 gene leads to a higher consumption of sugars and alcohol, it is also associated with higher blood pressure and a higher waist-to-hip ratio.

In practice, even if there is a lower percentage of body fat, the one detected is concentrated mainly in the abdominal part instead of on the gluteus, thighs and hips, and it could therefore be even more harmful to health. In addition, albeit slightly, those with this genetic variant have a higher blood pressure on average.

What is the purpose of this study? Undoubtedly, the authors say, it is useful to discover some genetic and biological aspects of obesity, starting from the analysis of the different variants of FGF21. In the meantime? Do not take many sugars and always pay attention to our diet. Remember that a balanced diet is essential to avoid health problems.