Love chips? Better hope you've got good genes: Fried food causes more weight gain in people with the 'fat gene'

  • Fried food causes more weight gain in people genetically prone to obesity
  • Findings prove cutting fried food consumption is key to preventing obesity

By Emma Innes

PUBLISHED: 19:01 EST, 18 March 2014 | UPDATED: 19:01 EST, 18 March 2014

People who have a genetic tendency towards obesity put on more weight when they eat fried food than people who are not prone to weight gain

People who have a genetic tendency towards obesity put on more weight when they eat fried food than people who are not prone to weight gain

Many of us feel guilty when we tuck into a pile of greasy, fried food.

But new research suggests some of us need to feel guiltier than others – and it is all down to the genes.

People whose genes put them at risk of obesity could be more likely to pile on the pounds when they eat fried foods, a study suggests.

Eating fried foods four times a week or more had twice as big an effect on the weight of those with the highest genetic obesity scores, compared to those with the lowest, Harvard researchers found.

Even eating the foods once or twice a week increased the risk of being overweight in people who had a genetic predisposition to obesity.

It is the first time experts have looked at the interaction between obesity genetics, weight, and a certain food group.

The team analysed data from more than 37,000 men and women taking part in three U.S. health trials.

Using questionnaires, they looked at food consumption at home and away and calculated a genetic risk score based on 32 known genetic variants associated with BMI and obesity.

Those in the highest third of genetic risk had twice the difference in BMI if they ate fried food four times a week or more compared to those with the lowest risk.

Meanwhile, those with the highest risk who ate the foods one to three times a week were also heavier than people with lower genetic risk.

 

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Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the authors, including from the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School in Boston, U.S., said: ‘We found a significant interaction between fried food consumption and genetic predisposition to adiposity (obesity).

‘These results for the first time suggest that individuals with a greater genetic predisposition to [obesity] might be more susceptible to the adverse influence of overconsumption of fried food on [obesity]; and overconsumption of fried foods might magnify genetic effects on [obesity].’

Even eating fried foods once or twice a week increases the risk of being overweight in people who have a genetic predisposition to obesity

Even eating fried foods once or twice a week increases the risk of being overweight in people who have a genetic predisposition to obesity

Assistant professor Lu Qi, from the Harvard School of Public Health, added: ‘Our findings emphasise the importance of reducing fried food consumption in the prevention of obesity, particularly in individuals genetically predisposed to [obesity].’

Professor Alexandra Blakemore and Dr Jessica Buxton, from Imperial College London, said in an accompanying editorial: ‘This work provides formal proof of interaction between a combined genetic risk score and environment in obesity.’

However, they said the results ‘are unlikely to influence public health advice, since most of us should be eating fried food more sparingly anyway’.

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...eat what you like, in moderation

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Those in control won't be happy until they control your diet. Historical fact.

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I prefer to have potato chunks, cooked in the oven at 400 for an hour. Although personally when I fried my potatos I really enjoyed slicing them way thicker than a potato chip and then frying them, but that has been years and years ago.

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Once a while is not a big deal.

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I never thought of that. Thanks

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Contradictions everywhere, dm.

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JUNK SCIENCE. Everyone who eats fried foods and exceeds their metabolic calorie needs gains weight.

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Those do not look like chips ? Those are french fries.

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Fried food FOUR TIMES A WEEK!!!! Gross!!!

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As a British expat living in America, I too have the "fat gene". As I am about 95% Welsh, I have inherited the really slow metabolism that allowed my ancestors of 500 years ago to survive the cold and wet conditions. Couple that with California's warm climate and fast-food culture, there is a lot of danger of gaining weight fast. However, I keep myself in check by exercising 5 times a week and eating small amounts consistently throughout the day. My BMI is around 19, so there is absolutely no excuse for being overweight at all.

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