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Vigorous physical activity can help even people genetically prone to obesity keep the weight off, U.S. researchers said.
They said a study among a group of *Amish people found those who had an obesity-related gene called FTO but were very physically active weighed about the same as others who did not carry the gene.
"When we looked at the Amish who were the most active, there is suddenly no effect of that gene," said Dr. Soren Snitker of the University of Maryland, whose study appears in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
The findings, which suggest physical activity can overcome a genetic predisposition for obesity, may help inform the debate over whether changes in diet or physical activity will make the biggest difference in fighting obesity.
Researchers focused their study on a group of 704 Old Order Amish men and women in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Snitker said the group offered a unique mix of activity levels, with some farmers in the community still using horse-drawn plows while others holding more conventional jobs, including factory work.
He and colleague Evadnie Rampersaud of the University of Miami were looking to see if physical activity in this group might offset the effects of the fat mass and obesity associated with the FTO gene
People with two copies of the FTO gene on average weigh nearly 7 pounds (3 kg) more and are about 70 percent more likely to be obese than those who do not have the gene.
The volunteers wore a device called an accelerometer to track motion for a week.
The researchers compared body mass index or BMI, a measure of weight to height, and found those who were less active and had the FTO gene variant were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese.
But among the most physically active, the FTO gene made no difference. ■Reuters
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