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Newly Discovered Mouse Gene May Provide Clues About Human Obesity The obese mouse on the left lacks the mahogany gene, which appears to affect metabolism and appetite. The discovery of a gene in mice that affects eating behavior and physical activity may have valuable implications for human obesity research. The mahogany gene, so called because of the mutation in coat color that it produces in mice, was identified by researchers at Stanford and Harvard medical schools. “Mice without the mahogany gene both eat more and exercise more than those with the gene,” according to investigator Gregory Barsh, M.D., Ph.D., whose study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and published in the March 11 issue of the journal Nature. Barsh, an associate professor of pediatrics and genetics at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, says it is unclear whether the increased activity causes overeating or whether excessive eating causes the overactivity—or whether the two are causally related at all—but the gene does appear to affect both metabolism and appetite. The protein that the mahogany gene produces in mice is identical to a form of the human protein attractin. Further study of the mahogany gene will deepen our understanding of its role in weight regulation, and may prove helpful in obesity treatment in humans. Waist Circumference Measurement in Children Predicts Lipid Risk Factors Waist circumference in children, even after adjustment for weight, is more strongly related to lipid risk factors than either triceps or subscapular skinfold thickness, according to a study led by David S. Freedman, M.D., an epidemiologist in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Freedman et al. say that the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference has been used to predict risk factors in adults, but few studies have been conducted to determine the importance of these characteristics in children. “Waist circumference measures the general level of overweight and adverse fat patterning, and is very easy to measure” says Freedman. “Triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness, which involve pinching the skin and using a caliper, are more difficult to measure and are more prone to inaccuracy. The hip circumference does not provide information on risk factor levels in children and adolescents.” Freedman’s results are based on studying levels of low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, insulin, and blood pressure among 3,000 children and adolescents aged 5-17 years examined from 1992 to 1994 in the Bogalusa Heart Study. Freedman’s study, which was published in the February 1999 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is available through the American Society for Clinical Nutrition at 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3998; phone: (301) 530-7038; and can be found on the Web at http://www.ajcn.org.

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