The genes lead to differences in body shape in both sexes, but seven of them led to a greater expression of either shape in women than in men.
这些基因都会导致男性和女性的身材变形,但是其中7组基因对导致女性身材走形的影响远远大于对男性的影响。
The researchers said the discovery held out the hope of drugs that could alter fat distribution to the safer option - potentially turning "apples" at high risk of disease into "pears".
研究者表示,研究发现有望发明新的药物来改变人体内脂肪堆积,药物将人体由“苹果型”身材改变成“梨子型”身材,以形成健康的体型。
In a second search of the same data they found 18 sets of genes associated with obesity, increasing the number of genes associated with a high BMI (body mass index)to 32. People with many of these 32 genes weighed 15.4lb to 19.8lb (7 to 9kg) more than those with few of them.
研究者基于相同的数据做出第二个研究发现18组与肥胖有关的基因。这些基因将与体质指数有关的基因数增加到32. 人体内带有这32组基因的人们的体重要比体内很少带有这些基因的人们的体重重15.4磅到19.8磅(7至9千克)。
Dr Cecilia Lindgren of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, was involved in both papers, published in the journal Nature Genetics.
牛津大学人类遗传学威康信托中心瑟琳娜?林格伦教授发表了两篇研究,刊登在《自然遗传学》期刊上。
She said: "Understanding biology through finding genes is just a first step in a long journey towards treatment, but it is a vital one. As efforts to tackle obesity through changes in lifestyle or by different treatment options have proved extremely challenging, the potential to alter patterns of fat distribution may offer an alternative for future drug discovery."
她说:“通过寻找基因变异来了解生物学,只不过是漫长治疗的第一步,但也是至关重要的一步。通过改变生活方式或者治疗方案的选择来解决肥胖问题已经被证明极具挑战性,所以通过潜在改变人体内脂肪分布模式发明药物将替代未来减肥方式。
However, they have a long way to go before mapping all the genetic reasons for such differences in body shape and mass.
然而,要发现导致人体身材和体质指数变化的所有基因还有很长一段路要走。
The 13 gene sets associated with "apples and pears" only account for about one percent of the variety in waist-to-hip ratios among the population. The 32 known "obesity genes" only account for 1.45 percent of the variation in BMI.
在所有人口中,决定“苹果型和梨形身材”的13组基因在人们腰围和臀围比例中只占百分之一。而32组“肥胖基因”在人体体质指数变化中只占1.45%的比例。