Nature and Nurture Contribute to Overeating

By Peggy Peck, Executive Editor, MedPage Today Published: December 10, 2008 Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

DUNDEE, Scotland, Dec. 10 -- The likelihood of craving a couple of calorie-laden burgers and a cupcake or two instead of consuming a simple rice cake may be determined by a genetic mutation associated with obesity, found investigators here. The effect of the mutation in a subset of children appears to involve control of both the amount of food consumed and the desire to consume dense, high calorie foods, researchers reported in the Dec. 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.  /.../