Obese people's 'lottery' genes

Geneticists have revealed why some obese people remain relatively healthy while others suffer from life-changing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease

Anyone with a BMI over 30 is now considered obese

"Some people have unlucky fat genes, which means they store more fat all over the body, including under the skin, in the liver and in the pancreas

Using Mendelian randomization, the team found that of the 37 diseases they tested, 12 -- including coronary artery disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes -- were directly associated with genes that determine whether a person has 'favorable obesity,'" Nine of these arguably have nothing to do with someone's obesity, most likely due to excess weight bearing, such as deep vein thrombosis or knee arthritis

They also found that some diseases previously thought to be related to weight, such as Alzheimer's, did not appear to be related to weight

Dr Yagutkar said: "In order to better prevent and measure disease risk, it is important to understand whether obesity is an accidental risk factor, whether it is a causal factor, and what consequences it has - metabolic, mechanical or psychological of — resulting in a risk

"Our findings also demonstrate that everyone can benefit from losing excess fat, even with a healthy metabolism," she added

The researchers say the findings will help doctors determine whether they should target the adverse effects of someone's obesity, or try to get them to lose a few pounds

"By contrast, for other conditions, reducing excess weight may be more important than reducing harmful levels of high sugar and fat in the blood

The study, published in the journal eLife, was funded by Diabetes UK and conducted in collaboration with the University of Winchester

Dr Susan Martin, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, who was involved in the study, said: "While identifying the causes of obesity-related diseases is important, good genes still cannot replace a healthy life>