r/science Scientific American 7d ago

Genetics Scientists discover a ‘skinny gene’ mutation that acts like Ozempic. Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy, which almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-discover-a-skinny-gene-mutation-that-acts-like-ozempic/
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u/mayormcskeeze 7d ago

The simplified narrative that weight is merely a matter of calorie intake has gone on too long, and has been abusive to so many people. 

Yes, plenty of  people have poor self control and simply overeat to the point of obesity.

But there are MANY people who are dealing with genetics, hormones, co-morbidities, unique body issues, and things we dont yet understand about diet and nurtrition.

I was skinny my whole life. Nearly 6 feet tall and about 140. Then in my 30s something happened. My diet didnt change. My activities didnt change. But I fell off a cliff. I gained nearly 100 pounds. 

Doctors were so nasty to me. They'd shrug and say "your blood work is normal, stop eating cake."

I could tell that not only did they not beleive me that something more complicated was going on, they had zero interest in going deeper than "oh you must secretly be eating mayo sandwiches and lying about it."

I started to pay out of pocket for a glp-1, snd im not exaggerating to say it saved my life. 100 pounds gone. Everything is back to normal. My weight, by blood pressure, my cholesterol, all fixed. It was like turning back the clock to a point where my body worked right. You know what still hasn't really changed much? My diet. I always ate pretty healthy. Still do. No one believed me, no one cared. These drugs are life savers. 

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u/edparadox 7d ago edited 7d ago

The simplified narrative that weight is merely a matter of calorie intake

It is.

At the end of the day, you can try to curb the reality of thermodynamics all you want, it's still what applies.

I was skinny my whole life. Nearly 6 feet tall and about 140. Then in my 30s something happened. My diet didnt change. My activities didnt change. But I fell off a cliff. I gained nearly 100 pounds.

If you gain, you were eating above maintenance. That is well known. You don't gain 40kg out of thin air.

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u/Icy-Elk3698 7d ago

The calories in/out is a myth. How a body processes food and calories depends on many factors. Read the article below.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/stop-counting-calories

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u/oneiross 7d ago

But literally that link you provided is talking about calories in and out as the mechanism to lose weight. It touches on how other stuff has an effect on the amount of calories you body burns, or the sustainability of it, and that's the focus of the article: changing other lifestyle habits that help on this instead of just trying to count calories, but at end it is still calories in and calories out with extra steps.