Excessive kilos

2006/02/01 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak
• Osasuna

(Photo: Archive)

Dr. Gema Frühbeck, head of the Metabolic Research Laboratory of the University Clinic of Navarra, published a comment on the November issue of the journal Nature. In this work he presented acuapprotein as a new modulator of adipocyte biology. It is a new concept. According to this, glycerol permeability in fat cells allows to modulate adipocyte size, which helps control obesity.

Research so far has been conducted on mice from different families and genes. All of them have been given food in the same way and have seen that some mice have barley and others have not. The main conclusions are drawn from these results.

It was already known that aquaporins carry water through the membranes, but now they have seen that they also have to do with body weight and adiposity. In fact, a subfamily of aquaporins, the family of aquagliceroporins, in addition to water, carries small solutes such as glycerol. Therefore, in the case of several molecules, acuaglizeriporins, so to speak, serve as a bridge. In addition, it has been detected that the elimination of residual bankruptcy of adipose tissue, which is typical of glycerol, which is the cause of its destruction, is not able to leave the fat cell and that accumulates progressively inside. That is, an adipocyte hypertrophy occurs. If all this is long and occurs in more than one adivenite, the tendency is to fatten.

In addition, it has been found that the incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence of incidence in insulin is high. However, in humans, the loss of this function is not related to obesity or diabetes. We have studied the only case in which there is a loss of aquapiculture 7 in humans, and this person does not have symptoms of obesity or diabetes; the only symptom that has been detected is a slight increase in the level of glycerol in blood.

More than a genetic problem, a matter of habits

Dr. Gema Frühbeck works at the Clinical University of Navarra investigating the genetics of obesity.

University Clinic of Navarra

Approximately 400 genes are involved in body weight regulation. A few years ago it was thought that obesity had an important genetic basis, that is, it was considered that the patients were obese because their genes conditioned it. Therefore, the Metabolic Research Laboratory has analyzed the expression profile of the genes associated with this disease. And they have seen that some genes have in some cases a higher propensity to fatten, since there are genes that tend to save energy and others tend to release energy. However, there are several reasons for the same phenotype of obesity. The current obesity epidemic is largely due to sedentary life and lifestyle change, not so much genetic change. Undoubtedly, the development of obesity is due to the combination of external agents and different genes.

Dr. Gema Frühbeck has received the Sir David Cuthbertson medal for this research. This medal is awarded by the Nutrition Society. The Nutrition Society is the most prestigious scientific organization in Europe dedicated to food research. Dr. Frühbeck, for his part, is the first Spanish researcher to receive this medal. What's more, it's the first time they reward a researcher who is investigating outside the United States.

From now on, researchers from the University Clinic of Navarra will aim to analyze in depth the pathophysiological state of human obesity and assess the modulation of these channels.

Serious child problem: obesity

In recent years the problem of obesity has had a direct impact on a segment of society, specifically in children. In fact, according to the Spanish Ministry of Health, childhood obesity, especially between 6 and 12 years, is approximately 16%, higher than that of adults.

All experts have looked for the causes of this growth. They consider that changes in children's diet in recent years have a lot to do. We must bear in mind that our society moves away from the Mediterranean diet, unfortunately, and that we consume more and more cooked foods, and that we make more and more fast food.

(Photo: Archive)

The best way to treat obesity is to prevent it as soon as possible. For obese children, the solution to the problem is to teach more correct and healthy eating and living habits. If you have to apply a food measure, you have to take care of it very well, so that there is no restriction that can affect the child's growth. Therefore, at that age it may be more appropriate to increase energy expenditure, for example by doing sports.

"What to see the child, to learn it," says a proverb that has a lot of food to teach the child. In childhood, dietary habits are strengthened and supplemented.