The gene that makes one fat

Here is some interesting new research  - reported in The Times 31/3/2014 and published in Nature Genetics

They have found a gene AMY1.

The more copies you have of it  - the better you are at metabolising carbohydrates and starch.

So - in starvation times , you are the one who will survive.
However in times of surplus  - you are the one who gets fat.

AMY1 is responsible for the production of Amylase in saliva
Amylase is responsible for the first stage of the digestion of carbohydrates and starch.

People with more of this enzyme, seem to gain more nutrition from bread etc - so much so - that the top 10% for the number of AMY1 "copy number variations" are 8 times more likely to be obese than those in the bottom.

Studies on non-identical twins with different AMY1 genes but with identical childhood feeding showed how one twin slowly got fatter and fatter whilst the other one stayed slim

Fascinating.

I will do very well in a famine - I always knew that