Newsletter #068

Newsletter #68: How to Overcome Obesity Genes, and How to Learn to Love Kale 🥬

Hello Friends!

Welcome to the latest edition of the humanOS newsletter! Here is where we share our work, plus the various studies and media that caught our attention this week. 🤓

This Week’s Research Highlights

🏃‍♀️ Regular physical exercise attenuates genetic predisposition toward obesity - and jogging seems to be most effective.

Researchers calculated genetic risk scores for 18424 participants in the Taiwan Biobank. They also assessed their exercise routines and various measures of body composition (including BMI, body fat percentage, and waist and hip circumference. They found that regular jogging was the most effective exercise for fighting the effects of genes associated with obesity. Other activities, including mountain climbing, walking, and dancing, also lowered BMI in individuals at high genetic risk for obesity.

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Summary: Researchers calculated genetic risk scores for obesity in 18424 Taiwanese adults, and also assessed their physical activity habits and body composition. They found that regular jogging was the most effective exercise for counteracting the effect of genes associated with obesity. Other activities, including mountain climbing, walking, and dancing, also lowered BMI in individuals at high genetic risk for obesity.

🥬🍊 Higher intake of fruits and vegetables also helps fight weight gain in individuals at high genetic risk of obesity.

Researchers calculated a genetic risk score (on the basis of 77 BMI-associated loci) to determine genetic susceptibility to obesity in 8943 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and 5308 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Then they examined how changes in fruit and vegetable intake interacted with the genetic risk score on changes in BMI and body weight over a 20 year follow-up period. Participants with high genetic risk of obesity showed a more pronounced benefit in terms of weight management with increasing fruit and vegetable intake. Interaction effect was greatest for berries, citrus fruits, and green leafy vegetables.

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Summary: Researchers calculated genetic risk for obesity in 8943 women and 5308 men. Then they examined how changes in fruit and vegetable intake interacted with the genetic risk score on changes in BMI and body weight over a 20 year follow-up period. Participants with a higher genetic risk score benefitted more in terms of weight management from increasing fruit and vegetable intake. The effect was strongest for berries, citrus fruit, and green leafy vegetables.

🤰 Stress hormones vary seasonally during pregnancy, and may affect offspring later in life.

Researchers examined data from 316 pregnant women who had provided saliva samples prior to and immediately after undergoing caesarean section. On average, women giving birth in the autumn or winter showed 20% higher salivary cortisol just before delivery. It is thought that this exposure to elevated stress hormones may explain why individuals born in the fall and winter appear to be more vulnerable to developing psychiatric conditions later in life.

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Summary: Researchers examined data from 316 pregnant women who had provided saliva samples prior to and immediately after undergoing caesarean section. On average, women giving birth in the autumn or winter showed 20% higher salivary cortisol just before delivery. This exposure to elevated stress hormones may be why individuals born in the fall and winter appear to be more vulnerable to developing psychiatric conditions later in life.

🥦 What you eat may actually change what you like to eat.

The foods that you eat create a signature in your salivary proteome, and these proteins actually affect your sense of taste. Animals that are exposed to bitter compounds in their diet, over time, gradually upregulate salivary proteins that reduce their sensitivity to bitterness. This may be one reason why repeated exposure to foods that contain bitter-tasting compounds, like broccoli and kale, eventually causes them to become more appealing.

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Summary: The foods that you eat create a signature in your salivary proteome, and these proteins actually affect your sense of taste. Animals that are exposed to bitter compounds in their diet, over time, gradually upregulate salivary proteins that reduce their sensitivity to bitterness. This may be one reason why repeated exposure to foods that contain bitter-tasting compounds, like broccoli and kale, eventually causes them to become more appealing.

🧠 Obesity in middle age may increase risk of brain deterioration later in life.

Researchers recruited 1289 subjects with an average age of 64. Participants’ BMI and waist circumference were measured at the beginning of the study. An average of six years later, participants had MRI brain scans to measure the thickness of the cortex area of the brain, overall brain volume and other factors. Having a higher BMI was associated with having a thinner cortex, even after adjustment for other relevant factors, like high blood pressure, alcohol use, and smoking. In overweight people, every unit increase in BMI was associated with a 0.098 millimeter thinner cortex. In obese individuals, every unit increase in BMI was associated with a 0.207 millimeter thinner cortex.

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Summary: Researchers measured BMI and waist circumference in 1289 older adults. An average of six years later, participants had MRI brain scans to measure the thickness of the cortex area of the brain. After adjusting for other relevant factors, higher BMI was found to be associated with having a thinner cortex. In overweight people, every unit increase in BMI was associated with a 0.098mm thinner cortex. In obese individuals, every unit increase in BMI was associated with a 0.207mm thinner cortex.

Podcasts We Loved This Week

Josh Turkett: Game Level versus Source Code. Via Intelligence Unshackled.

Manoush Zomorodi: Has Constant Stimulation Replaced Boredom? Via TED Radio Hour.

Megan Sumeracki and Cindy Nebel: Learning to Learn. Via Smart Drug Smarts.

Products We Are Enjoying

Avocado oil spray. 🥑

Avocado oil has the highest smoke point of any oil of which I am aware (520 degrees Fahrenheit / ~271 degrees Celsius), making it the safest choice for roasting and stir-frying. Avocados are also a rich source of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, which seem to keep your coronary arteries very happy, so it’s also a good idea from a health standpoint. I like the spray in particular because it diffuses the oil in a thin layer, so it’s evenly distributed and you don’t use too much.

humanOS Catalog Feature of the Week

Want to watch this course with us this week? First lesson is less than four minutes long. Not yet a Pro user of humanOS? No sweat, the first module is available for everyone, so give it a shot!

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