For years, researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin have been unlocking the genetics
of obesity. Now they’re evaluating genetic tendencies between generations.
I think it’s exciting to find genes and to control those genes and stop their impact
on health and help people to be cured form a disease that is very devastating and very
common.
The future of science is brilliant I think at this point. We all of a sudden have the
opportunity of looking at things and the interaction of different proteins and genes that we could
have never done 5 or even 10 years ago.
Medical College researchers have already identified several genes associated with obesity and
are looking for the key genes influencing its development. With support from the group
TOPS or Take Off Pounds Sensibly, DNA from thousands of members is being studied. Patricia
Beuchel donated a sample of her DNA and her grandchildren just joined the study. Relatives
on both sides of their family have had some significant problems with obesity.
I don’t want my kids to go through that and I don’t want my kids to see me go through
that.
Rachel climbs inside a new machine called the Bod Pod. She sits quietly while it quickly
calculates her lean fat and body mass, information that will complement the broad base of scientific
research at the college, aimed at understanding the causes of obesity and possibly bringing
it under control.
www.mcw.edu/ObesityGeneResearch Copyright 2010 Medical College of Wisconsin
