Why Do Some People Never Get Fat? Scientists May Have the Answer

mercurial

mercurial

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Remember the guy from Super Size Me who ate about 23,000 Bic Macs and never got fat? Ever wonder how he did it? Turns out he may have been born without the “fat enzyme.”

The enzyme MGAT2 is found in the intestines and determines the fate of our food by regulating how it is metabolized: It either makes fat go straight to your waistline, or converts it into energy. Scientists in California have discovered that when mice are missing the gene for MGAT2, they can eat whatever they want and never have to worry about getting fat.

The University of California at San Francisco knocked out the gene in experimental mice to see how their bodies grew after feeding them different diets. When the normal and experimental mice were fed a diet low in fat, both sets of mice grew the same way. But when the mice were eating a 60 percent fat diet (i.e., a typical American diet), the experimental mice weighed 40 percent less and had 50 percent less fat than the normal mice.

Not only does decreasing MGAT activity in mice reduce their chances of packing on the pounds, it also prevents them from developing other obesity-related problems such as fatty livers and glucose intolerance. While the researchers are unsure of precisely how the experimental mice kept the weight off, they think that when the mice are missing the MGAT2 enzyme, their body ultimately doesn’t store or use the fat.

Still, don’t go on a Big Mac binge just yet: Until scientist can figure out how to manipulate this gene to create the magic skinny pill, we will continue to metabolize food like we did when we were hunters and gathers.
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Source

Note that it's not the guy who did Supersize Me, but one of the people he interviewed in the film, Don Gorske, who ate 23,000 burgers over the years and hasn’t gotten fat.
 
I'm one of those people, I eat bucket loads of crap, I'm not very active and never ever put on weight, well not a significant amount anyway. I've always been like this....
 
So many factors -

1. Do they smoke?
2. Are they (fairly) tall?
3. Do they have tapeworm? :D Just kidding !
 
blunomore said:
So many factors -

1. Do they smoke?
2. Are they (fairly) tall?
3. Do they have tapeworm? :D Just kidding !
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I'm a smoker, I'm tallish 6ft2, and no idea about tapeworm :D

I actually try and put weight on, on purpose but it always levels out.
 
me too :( tho i think after going to gym and stopping but eating as much i've managed to get fat slightly.. but weight wise i'm the same :confused:
 
Yeah I used to weigh 71kg's and I'm 6'5" But I found that increasing your beer intake helps!!! But seriously, I can eat all day and never go over 98kg!
 
I'm 6foot tall and before this year I weighed 58 but with gymming and supplements I grew to 62 and now I'm officially in the normal bmi index.
 
Retro is so thin because he has two holes from which he blasts out excrement at a tremendous rate. The anus and the mouthus!

And just in case you haven't caught on to British humour yet, Retro, that's a joke ;-).
 
Aeron said:
Retro is so thin because he has two holes from which he blasts out excrement at a tremendous rate. The anus and the mouthus!

And just in case you haven't caught on to British humour yet, Retro, that's a joke ;-).
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I've been here long enough ;)
 
phoneJunky said:
I'm 6foot tall and before this year I weighed 58 but with gymming and supplements I grew to 62 and now I'm officially in the normal bmi index.
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You're only just scraping into normal there...... 18.5 is on the cusp of underweight still! :)

mercurial said:
You're so lucky. Most people would give anything not to get fat.
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I was just saying to someone today that it is actually so much easier to lose weight than trying to gain it. Is it not funny how people on opposite sides of the spectrum (well probably not quite opposite but you get the idea) see things so differently. From my perspective someone overweight just has to eat a little healthier and become more active - walk to that work colleagues desk rather than picking up the phone, take the stairs up those two flights of stairs instead of the lift, you get on top for a change instead of just lying there ;) etc - whereas to gain weight is more of an effort. And I mean healthy weight here. Not junk food weight gain.
 
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