An American research institute is conducting an obesity study in newborns. The research team believes that this study will help uncover the root cause of obesity.
Babies as young as two weeks old are visiting the lab at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in the US. The research team is investigating the cause of obesity by measuring body fat percentage and metabolism in these subjects.
What is the purpose of research on newborns? A newborn baby is not yet affected by external factors such as food. At most, she eats breast milk or formula, and does not exercise. The research team explained that the fundamental biological cause of obesity could be more clearly identified by conducting research on babies who are not yet influenced by the outside world.
This is related to the ‘metabolic fingerprint’ theory. Fingerprints on a person’s finger are a means of identifying an individual because they do not change throughout life. Similarly, a person’s metabolism is determined from birth just like a fingerprint. By deciphering this fingerprint, you can find out why some are thin and others are fat.
In addition, if the cause of obesity is found through this, medical intervention can be attempted as soon as possible to prevent weight gain. According to medical experts, even at the age of five, it becomes difficult for doctors to intervene. That is why it is good to predict the likelihood of obesity as early as possible.
This study is very meaningful at the present time when the obesity population is increasing all over the world. Obesity is the cause of numerous health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.
Developed countries invest a lot of money every year to prevent and treat obesity, but the number of obese people is increasing. It is very difficult for a person to lose weight once he has gained weight, and even if he succeeds, he often returns to his original body.
Weight is basically a simple problem because it is determined by calorie intake and consumption, but the reasons for overeating, drinking too much, and binge eating are very complex. Since the principle of losing weight is simple, but it is very difficult to practice, the solution to obesity is a problem that requires unraveling the secrets of a complex mechanism.
Louisiana, where the Pennington Institute is located, is an ideal location for such research. This state has a large number of obese people. 22.2% of children aged 10-17 are obese. Each person’s income level is different, and so is the race.
The research team will measure body fat in newborns and compare the body fat again when they are 2 years old. If possible, we plan to follow up after the age of 4, 5, and even adulthood.
Babies who visit the research center stay for two hours in the metabolism room prepared by the research team. By measuring the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide formed at this time, you can compare a child who burns calories in the body with a child who does not.
It can also calculate whether the calories burned come from fat or from carbohydrates. This is a way to check how each person consumes energy in the body, and through this, customized nutrition and meal prescriptions can be made.
Although this study is still in its infancy, the research team believes it will be a study that finds good clues to solve the problem of obesity in the long term.
In the previous study, a study was also conducted to find the cause of obesity through the umbilical cord blood of newborns. The study confirmed that the mother’s fat cell fragments migrate to the baby and affect metabolism. This study, like previous studies, is a study to find the root cause of obesity in newborns.
By Moon Se-young, staff reporter [email protected]
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