8/16/2019 Medical Daily News Proposal - New Research on Genetic Risks for Obesity

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New Research On Genetic Risks For Obesity

Vocabulary:

•  obese [oʊˈbiːs] (adjective) - extremely fat

She has been obese since her childhood years.

•  obesity [-ˈbiː.sə.t ̬ i] (noun) - the state of being obese

A diet that is high in fat can lead to obesity.

•  metabolism [məˈtæb.əl.ɪ.z

əm] (noun) - all the chemical processes in your body, especially those

that cause food to be used for energy and growthYou can speed up your metabolism with exercises.

•  stem cell [stem sel] (noun) - a cell, especially one taken from a person in a very early stage of

development, that can develop into any other type of cell

Stem cell researching can help find a cure for that disease.•  physiology [ˌfɪz.iˈɒl.ə.dʒi] (noun) - the scientific study of the way in which the bodies of living

things work

Human physiology is very complex.

•  inherent [ɪnˈher.ənt] (adjective) - existing as a natural or basic part of something

I have an inherent distrust of lawyers.

•  propensity [ prəˈpensɪti] (noun) - natural tendency to behave in a particular way

He seems to have a propensity for indiscretion.

•  offspring [ˈɒf.sprɪŋ] (noun) - someone’s child or children – often used humorously; the young of

an animal

 Next to us was a young mother who was trying to control her offspring.

 New research offers potential clues as to why children of obese mothers are at increased risk for obesity.

The study was presented [...] at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association [...] in Boston.

Previous studies have provided clear evidence that children of obese parents are more likely to be obese.The new research indicates that while in the womb, the cells of children of obese mothers may be

 programmed to accumulate extra fat, or develop differences in metabolism that could lead to insulin

resistance.

The researchers extracted stem cells from umbilical cords of infants of obese and normal-weight mothersand grew the cells [...] in the lab. Compared to those from normal-weight mothers, the lab-grown cells

from obese mothers had 30 percent more fat. [...]

"At this point, because this is fairly preliminary, we don't know how these differences in cells grown inthe lab correspond to the physiology of these children after birth," Kristen Boyle, Ph.D., assistant

 professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, said [...]. "But it's clear that there

is an inherent propensity toward more fat content in the cells from offspring of obese moms [...]. We alsoknow that the fat accumulation in these cells corresponded to the baby's fat mass at birth. The next step is

to follow these offspring to see if there is a lasting change into adulthood."

8/16/2019 Medical Daily News Proposal - New Research on Genetic Risks for Obesity

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Questions:

1) What have previous studies on children of obese parents proved?

2) How big was the difference in the fat accumulation in cells grown from obese and normal-weightmothers?

3) What is the next step in this research?

Discussion:

1) Do you think that obesity is a big problem in your country, and in the world?

2) What do you think are the possible health problems that can develop as a result of obesity?

3) What do you think should be done to prevent childhood obesity?