Taste For Fatty Foods: Fat Gene is Responsible

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Did you ever wonder why there are some people who would prefer a taste for fatty foods over anything else? Is it just habit or there’s an underlying reason? Well, recent findings show that these people may belong to the group who carry a defective ‘fat gene’. 

A group of UK researchers found that there are some people who are hay wired to choose fatty foods. This eventually puts them into an increased chance of developing obesity, as reported in BBC Health.

The Study

The research team from the University of Cambridge gathered 54 subjects and offered them unlimited portions of chicken korma and dessert. The meals were divided into different groups: some were in high in fat, while there were low-fat versions. 

It was noticeable that those with genes linked to obesity preferred the high-fat food. 

Fat genes

MC4R is the gene responsible for controlling hunger, managing appetite and burning calories. One in every 1,000 carries the defective gene which causes obesity in families. 

Experts think that humans developed this mutated gene to cope with famine and starvation. When there is not enough food, it’s sensible to eat and store fat to keep hunger at bay. However, if you have an MC4R gene, it just means that hunger can be insatiable. 

For dessert, they had a selection of strawberry pudding and meringue and cream. They also varied the sugar content in these foods.

It was noted that the 14 people with the defective gene ate more of the high-fat chicken korma compared to the 20 lean people and 20 obese people in the study.

The results also found that the MC4R carriers did not like the high-sugar option for dessert. Professor Sadaf Farooqi said that this is indicative of food preferences being linked to biology rather than free will.

“Even if you tightly control the appearance and taste of food, our brains can detect the nutrient content.

“Most of the time we eat foods that are both high in fat and high in sugar. By carefully testing these nutrients separately in this study, and by testing a relatively rare group of people with the defective MC4R gene, we were able to show that specific brain pathways can modulate food preference.”

The professor is the lead researcher and a part of the Wellcome Trust Medical Research Council Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge. 

The gene is somehow responsible for making the carrier value fat over sugar. Prof Farooqi says that this behaviour makes sense if the goal is to build-up fat storage for energy. 

The professor continued, “Having a pathway that tells you to eat more fat at the expense of sugar, which we can only store to a limited extent in the body, would be a very useful way of defending against starvation.”

She included as well that the results do not mean people cannot say no to their urges. Diet and exercise still plays a big role in achieving the optimum healthy weight.

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