Being thin or fat is determined by chromosome 16.
The Health section of the French newspaper Le Monde published an article on September 3, "Thinness, weight is genetic," citing the results of a study by scientists that said whether a person is fat or thin is not only determined by diet but also by genetic factors.
A joint study by French, British and Swiss scientists from the National Center for Scientific Research, University of Lille, Pasteur Institute (France), Royal College of England and University of Lausanne (Switzerland) shows that whether a person has an excess or lack of some genes on chromosome 16 will indicate whether that person will be thin or fat.
According to the authors, 1 in 2,000 people will have 3 copies of this gene and 1 in 2,500 will have only one copy (while normal people have 2 copies for each gene).
Scientists have noted a genetic abnormality when they observed a missing part of chromosome 16 in severely obese people. In these people, the body mass index is between 40-80, compared to 18-25 in normal people.
The study authors also stated that in the study group, half of the boys under 5 years old who had an extra copy of the gene were underweight, with the potential for slow growth.
In future studies, scientists will seek to identify which gene or genes are responsible for this phenomenon.
According to VNA/Vietnam+
