Obesity is one of the health conditions that runs in families. Some of the reasons why are environmental, and have to do with patterns of behavior that a person learns from his or her family. Other factors that influence obesity have to do with genetics. Researchers have found what they are calling the “master switch” gene for obesity. It has been established that if a person consumes more calories than the person burns, that this will lead to weight gain. We live in a society where it is easy to get large quantities of fast food for a very low … Continue reading →

Mothers have a huge influence on the lives of their children, starting from the moment that a child is conceived. There is a lot of advice to be found regarding exactly what a woman should eat, or should not eat, while she is pregnant. It turns out that an unhealthy diet can cause a genetic change in the woman’s baby that predisposes that child to have an increased risk of obesity. Obesity has been described as an epidemic in America. We have all heard about the increased health risks that an obese person faces. This translates into more visits to … Continue reading →

Many people believe that a daughter will grow to become very much like her mother, in terms of personality, personal preference, and physicality. It seems that there might be something to this little piece of folk wisdom. Researchers in London have been studying to find out how much of the similarities between mother and daughter are due to genetics. It turns out that genetics play a big part. Recently, researchers from the United States, China, and Austria found a genetic mutation that can be passed down from a mother to her offspring through mitochondrial DNA. This particular genetic mutation contributes … Continue reading →

Are their twins in your family? I’ve heard it said that the possibility of having twins tends to run in families, but there is some debate about if that is fact or fiction. It’s also been said that obesity tends to run in families. A rare genetic condition has caused a teenage twin in the UK to be obese, even though the other twin is not obese. Could both of those genetic factors run in families? There are two types of twins: identical, and fraternal. Identical twins share the exact same DNA with one another. A pair of identical twins … Continue reading →

Your doctor has probably asked you at one time or another about your family health history. If you responded to your doctor’s inquiry by saying “What’s a family health history” or if you have some information written down but forgot to bring it with you, you will be pleased to know that there is a way you can avoid such embarrassment the next time your doctor asks you about it. You see, like many things these days, there’s an app for that. Unfortunately, that app may not serve the purpose of providing your entire family medical history, as I found … Continue reading →