(NewsNation) — British researchers say the gene that drives some labrador retrievers to overeat and gain weight is also found in humans.
The connection between dogs and people surfaced after scientists studied 250 labradors and looked for commonalities in the obese dogs of the group. One culprit, they determined, is a gene known as DENND1B, which regulates appetite and energy.
The gene is also present in humans, and variants within people are likewise associated with obesity.
“Owners of slim dogs are not morally superior. The same is true of slim people,” said lead researcher Eleanor Raffan of the University of Cambridge’s Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience. “If you have a high genetic risk of obesity, then when there’s lots of food available you’re prone to overeating and gaining weight unless you put a huge effort into not doing so.”
The study could help in the development of drugs that fight obesity and prevent health problems associated with being overweight.
Dogs are a good model for the study of human obesity, the researchers said, because canines can become obese through similar environmental influences.
“This work shows how similar dogs are to humans genetically,” Raffan said. “Studying the dogs meant we had reason to focus on this particular gene, which has led to a big advance in understanding how our own brain controls our eating behavior and energy use.”
Study findings were published in the journal “Science” last week.