According to a study published in Nature Metabolism, there is not just one type of obesity, but two. Two types of diseases affect about 600 million people worldwide and each deserves specific treatments.
There is type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus; Perhaps tomorrow’s obesity will be defined in the same way. The German-American research team identified two distinct types of obesity with physiological and molecular differences.
after driving their studies In humans and mice, scientists briefly note that obesity can be characterized by fat that settles either in adipose tissue or in muscle.
In either case, it is possible to find a BMI greater than 30, which is the official definition of obesity. However, this indicator that compares weight relative to the height of individuals is inaccurate, because it does not take into account biological differences and can give a poor picture of a person’s health status.
Four metabolic subtypes
Scientists have discovered four metabolic subtypes that affect individual morphology: two prone to being thin and two to being obese.
When testing their findings in humans with mice, two distinct subtypes of obesity emerged: “One appeared to be supragenetic inducible and characterized by higher lean mass and higher fat mass, and indicative of inflammation, elevated insulin levels, and a strong genetic fingerprint,” says J. Andrew Pospisilik, one of the study participants, at article From News Medical.
The text specifies that, depending on the calculations and traits involved, “only 30 to 50% of the outcomes of human traits can be linked to genetics or environmental influences.” The other half is governed by something else called “unexplained phenotypic variance”: a real challenge that appears to be related to epigenetics, the processes that govern when and how much instructions in DNA are used.
Towards better care
With a clearer diagnosis of what type of obesity patients are, doctors can design diets or surgeries that lead to better weight loss.
Scientists have also discovered that the second type of obesity, in which fat accumulates in the muscles, is more dangerous: it causes increased tissue inflammation, which can lead to more diseases, including cancer.
The results of this research require further study, but they open up new avenues in more precise treatments for obesity and related metabolic disorders.
Radio theme: Bastien Convino
Web article: Stephanie Jacquet