Westerners 'programmed for fatty foods and alcohol'

• Lan wrote on 2011-07-19 19:33

  Westerners could be genetically programmed to consume fatty foods and alcohol more than those from the east, researchers have claimed.
  
  Scientists at the University of Aberdeen say a genetic switch - DNA which turns genes on or off within cells - regulates appetite and thirst.
  
  The study suggests it is also linked to depression.
  
  Dr Alasdair MacKenzie conceded it would not stop those moving to the west adapting to its lifestyle.
  
  Obesity levels have risen sharply in many Western countries since the 1970s.
  
  Dr MacKenzie, who lead the study team, told BBC Scotland they found Europeans were more inclined to consume fatty foods and alcohol - but that people from the East could end up with the same problems if adapting to a new culture.
  
  Scientists at the university's Kosterlitz Centre said the switch controls the galanin gene.
  
  Dr MacKenzie said: "The switch controls the areas of the brain which allows us to select which foods we would like to eat and if it is turned on too strongly we are more likely to crave fatty foods and alcohol.
  
  "The fact that the weaker switch is found more frequently in Asians compared to Europeans suggests they are less inclined to select such options.
  
  "These results give us a glimpse into early European life where brewing and dairy produce were important sources of calories during the winter months.
  
  "Thus, a preference for food with a higher fat and alcohol content would have been important for survival.
  
  "The negative effects of fat and alcohol we see today would not have mattered so much then as life expectancies were between 30 to 40 years."
  'Emotional state'
  
  He explained: "It is possible that during the winter individuals with the weaker switch may not have survived as well in Europe as those with the stronger switch and as a result those in the west have evolved to favour a high fat and alcohol rich diet."
  
  Dr MacKenzie added: "Galanin is also produced in an area of the brain called the amygdala where it controls fear and anxiety.
  
  "Thus, changing levels of galanin in the amygdala will have an effect on an individual's emotional state. Intriguingly, the switch was also active in the amygdala."
  
  The study is being published in the Journal of Neuropsychopharmocology.

  
  
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-14154598
  
  I call bs?
• Chiyuri wrote on 2011-07-19 19:41
  I think it's mostly just an USA kind of thing..
  My mother when into the USA for vacation this winter(we are from Canada) and when she cameback, she complained how all the food was so greasy over there and ended up only eating fruits for the entire week mostly.
• Mama wrote on 2011-07-19 19:42
  it's all a matter of nurture in my eyes.
  
  I thought they were above confusing correlation with causation!
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-19 21:31
  Why did it take an entire article just to say Americans are fat?
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-19 21:33
  why are we doing stupid study threads
• Sleeperdial wrote on 2011-07-19 21:39

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;518369:

  why are we doing stupid study threads

  
  
  The more you know...
• Lan wrote on 2011-07-19 23:33

  Quote from Sleeperdial;518365:

  Why did it take an entire article just to say Americans are fat?

  
  
  The "West" culture also includes European countries ya know?
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-19 23:48
  Doesn't sound that stupid to me. After all modern Europeans inhibit the land that before was inhibited by Neanderthals, and it is only reasonable to assume that they either made the same adaptions to the once same climate or acquired some Neanderthal traits from interbreeding.
  
  Though I guess that second one doesn't seem likely from what little we know.
  It'd be really cool though.
• Lan wrote on 2011-07-19 23:53

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;518548:

  Doesn't sound that stupid to me. After all modern Europeans inhibit the land that before was inhibited by Neanderthals, and it is only reasonable to assume that they either made the same adaptions to the once same climate or acquired some Neanderthal traits from interbreeding.
  
  Though I guess that second one is somewhat unlikely from what little we know.
  It'd be really cool though.

  
  
  Not really :) It's been shown through examining the DNA of some types of Europeans that they have some Neanderthal DNA
  
  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100506-science-neanderthals-humans-mated-interbred-dna-gene/
  
  HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH
• Sumpfkraut wrote on 2011-07-20 00:00

  Quote from Lan;518551:

  Not really :) It's been shown through examining the DNA of some types of Europeans that they have some Neanderthal DNA
  
  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/05/100506-science-neanderthals-humans-mated-interbred-dna-gene/
  
  HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH

  
  From what they write it's nothing like what I meant when I said interbreeding though.
  
  But even so, absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence... I'm still speculating on a significant neandertal contribution to modern Europeans, call me silly if you want.
• Lan wrote on 2011-07-20 00:05

  Quote from Sumpfkraut;518558:

  From what they write it's nothing like what I meant when I said interbreeding though.
  
  But even so, absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence... I'm still speculating on a significant neandertal contribution to modern Europeans, call me silly if you want.

  
  
  o3o http://www.cracked.com/article_19161_the-6-creepiest-things-hiding-in-your-dna.html
• Mama wrote on 2011-07-20 00:06
  I thought everybody interbred except the africans o.o
• Cynic wrote on 2011-07-20 01:32
  Doesn't surprise me much.
• Phanterz wrote on 2011-07-21 04:21
  I read the first 4 sentences and laughed.
• Cucurbita wrote on 2011-07-21 05:39
  Asians drink soooo much...