Obesity linked to carb digestion

摘要

"I'm off the carbs" is a familiar refrain among dieters. But could this approach to losing weight be better for some than others? That's the implication of research suggesting that obesity may be linked to how our bodies digest the starch found in carbohydrate-rich foods. When we eat, an enzyme in saliva called salivary amylase kick-starts digestion by breaking down starch into sugars. This enzyme is made by the gene AMY1, which we can have multiple copies of. Mario Falchi at Imperial College London and colleagues compared the genomes of a group of siblings where one was overweight, the other lean, and looked for genes which might help explain the difference. AMY1 topped the list.