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Exchanges at the Frontier: The Search for Hunger Genes

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'I Can Not Help the Way I Feel' by John Isaacs, 2003

20/02/2016 GMT

The Search for Hunger Genes

BBC World Service - Exchanges at the Frontier, The Search for Hunger Genes

Professor Sadaf Farooqi looks at why some people put on weight and others don’t

Professor Sadaf Farooqi looks at why some people put on weight and others don’t. And, how genes even influence what foods we eat.

Most people tend to overeat given a generous supply of appetising food, but some don’t put on weight while others do. Sadaaf Farooqi, professor of Metabolism and Medicine at Cambridge investigates the genetics of obesity, the brain’s response to food and how hormones influence metabolism and weight. Many myths surrounding weight gain such as a slow metabolism or, it’s my genes doctor, turn out to be true.

So should we be more compassionate to people who struggle with their weight?

In front of an audience of London Sixth formers at the Wellcome Collection she tells Claudia Hammond how only eating an extra slice of cucumber per day could cause an increase in weight. 

(Photo: Statue to illustrate obesity - I Cannot Help the Way I Feel by John Isaacs. Credit: Wellcome Collection)

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