Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh
Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh
So Labradors tend to overeat. Now it has been traced to genetic differences. "Dr Eleanor Raffan, a veterinary surgeon and geneticist who studies how genes influence metabolism at the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge recently published a study that examines the genetics that underlie food motivation and obesity in Labrador retrievers.
[...]
When Dr Raffan and her team carefully examined this POMC gene variant, they found that a small 14-basepair section a little more than halfway down the gene’s length was missing. This deletion creates a frameshift mutation that results in the production of an abnormal protein where the last half is scrambled into a blob of nonsense [...]. Normally, the POMC is translated into the POMC pro-peptide, which is cleaved at precise sites to give rise to number of smaller peptides, including the appetite suppressing neuropeptides, ß-MSH & ß-endorphin, but the abnormal POMC pro-peptide does not [...]. Thus, the unfortunate dogs with this POMC deletion mutation are always hungry, regardless of how much they eat.
[...]
Further, when the researchers assessed “food motivation” (although, in the case of Labrador retrievers, some might refer to this as “food obsession”) using a standardized questionnaire of dog owners (ref), they found this POMC deletion mutation was associated with dogs that showed significantly more food motivation behaviors, including frequently begging for titbits, being very attentive during mealtimes, and frequently scavenging for scraps
[...]
“Further research in these obese Labradors may not only help the well-being of companion animals, but also carry important lessons for human health”, said the study’s co-senior author, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Director of the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories.
[...]
“You can keep a dog with this mutation slim, but you have to be a lot more on-the-ball — you have to be more rigorous about portion control, and you have to be more resistant to your dog giving you the big brown eyes”, said Dr Raffan.
“If you keep a really food-motivated Labrador slim, you should give yourself a pat on the back, because it’s much harder for you than it is for someone with a less food-motivated dog”, said Dr Raffan."
https://medium.com/@GrrlScientist/what-fat-dogs-teach-us-about-human-obesity-grrlscientist-ef25a0dfd5ce
So Labradors tend to overeat. Now it has been traced to genetic differences. "Dr Eleanor Raffan, a veterinary surgeon and geneticist who studies how genes influence metabolism at the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge recently published a study that examines the genetics that underlie food motivation and obesity in Labrador retrievers.
[...]
When Dr Raffan and her team carefully examined this POMC gene variant, they found that a small 14-basepair section a little more than halfway down the gene’s length was missing. This deletion creates a frameshift mutation that results in the production of an abnormal protein where the last half is scrambled into a blob of nonsense [...]. Normally, the POMC is translated into the POMC pro-peptide, which is cleaved at precise sites to give rise to number of smaller peptides, including the appetite suppressing neuropeptides, ß-MSH & ß-endorphin, but the abnormal POMC pro-peptide does not [...]. Thus, the unfortunate dogs with this POMC deletion mutation are always hungry, regardless of how much they eat.
[...]
Further, when the researchers assessed “food motivation” (although, in the case of Labrador retrievers, some might refer to this as “food obsession”) using a standardized questionnaire of dog owners (ref), they found this POMC deletion mutation was associated with dogs that showed significantly more food motivation behaviors, including frequently begging for titbits, being very attentive during mealtimes, and frequently scavenging for scraps
[...]
“Further research in these obese Labradors may not only help the well-being of companion animals, but also carry important lessons for human health”, said the study’s co-senior author, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly, Director of the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories.
[...]
“You can keep a dog with this mutation slim, but you have to be a lot more on-the-ball — you have to be more rigorous about portion control, and you have to be more resistant to your dog giving you the big brown eyes”, said Dr Raffan.
“If you keep a really food-motivated Labrador slim, you should give yourself a pat on the back, because it’s much harder for you than it is for someone with a less food-motivated dog”, said Dr Raffan."
https://medium.com/@GrrlScientist/what-fat-dogs-teach-us-about-human-obesity-grrlscientist-ef25a0dfd5ce
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