Gene ups diabetes risk

Now, a scientist at Saint Louis University confirms the finding that a common variation of the gene FABP2 causes people to metabolise food in a way that increases risk for type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Edward Weiss, in a university news release, says that his research concluded that the gene, found in about half the US population, burned fat in the body in a way that hindered the ability to remove sugar from the blood stream.

Too much sugar in the blood is a major characteristic of diabetes.

While this finding is significant, Weiss says that having the gene variation doesn't mean a person is going to get diabetes. "Many other genes, some known and some unknown, are involved in a person's overall risk of developing diabetes," Weiss says in the news release. "Those are things a person can't control. But there are risk factors for diabetes that a person can change - lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise." – (HealthDayNews)

January 2007