New study: obesity is actually a "neurodevelopmental disorder"

Scientists have recently proposed that obesity is a neurodevelopmental disorder
.

Over the past few decades, obesity has grown rapidly, affecting more than 2 billion people and becoming one of the biggest causes of
ill health worldwide.
Despite decades of research on diet and exercise methods, many people still struggle to lose weight
.
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and its affiliates now believe they know why, and they believe the focus should shift from treating obesity to preventing it
.

The team reports in the journal Science Advances that molecular processes in early brain development may be a major determinant of
obesity risk.
Previous large human studies have shown that the genes most closely associated with obesity are expressed
in the developing brain.
This latest mouse study focuses on epigenetic development
.
Epigenetics is a molecular bookmarking system that regulates whether genes are utilized
in certain cell types.
"Decades of research in human and animal models have shown that environmental influences have significant long-term effects on health and disease during critical periods of development," said corresponding author Robert A.
Waterland, Ph.
D.
, professor of pediatric nutrition and a member of
the USDA's Baylor Center for Child Nutrition Research.
"Weight regulation is very sensitive to this 'developmental process,' but exactly how it works remains unclear
.
"

"In this study, we focused on a brain region called the arch nucleus of the hypothalamus, which is the main regulator of food intake, physical activity, and metabolism," said first author Harry MacKay, Ph.
D.
, who was a postdoctoral assistant
in Waterland's lab when he worked on the project.
"We found that the arcuate nucleus undergoes extensive epigenetic maturation in the early postnatal period
.
This period is also very sensitive to the developmental program of weight regulation, suggesting that these effects may be the result of
epigenetic maturation disorders.
”

The researchers performed genome-wide analyses
of gene expression and DNA methylation, a key epigenetic marker, before and after the critical window for postnatal weight development planning closed.

"One of the biggest strengths of our study is that we looked at two broad classes of brain cells, neurons and glia," MacKay said
.
"It turns out that the epigenetic maturation of the two cell types is very different
.
"

"Our study is the first to compare epigenetic development in men and women," Waterland said
.
"We were surprised to find a wide range of gender differences
.
In fact, in terms of these epigenetic changes after birth, males and females differ more than similarities
.
Moreover, many changes occur earlier in women than in men, suggesting that women are precocious in
this regard.
”