

Researchers claim that fat people may actually be happier than skinny people and the happiness comes from their ‘Fat’ genes. McMaster scientists from Canada claim that the gene responsible for obesity in people also helps in reduction of depression in people.

The gene is called FTO and is not only responsible for obesity but also results in eight percent reduction in depression, as published by McMaster.

David Meyre who is an associate professor in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and a Canada Research Chair in genetic epidemiology says that the eight percent reduction is depression is negligible when it comes to daily routine, but the discovery of the molecular formation responsible for altering the depression signs, is remarkable.

Strangely, McMaster theory contradicts the established belief that depression is sometimes triggered by obesity. Obesityity has been known to instill hopelessness among the obese and it also leads to discrimination. It becomes a vicious circle when the obese people start eating more to cope with the depression.

"We set out to follow a different path, starting from the hypothesis that both depression and obesity deal with brain activity. We hypothesized that obesity genes may be linked to depression," Meyre said.

The study was led by the Population Health Research Institute, which examined 17,200 DNA samples of contestants from 21 countries. The study investigated the genetic and psychiatric status of people.

It was hence established that the fat genes (FTO) is definitely responsible in reduction of depression , independent of the effect on the body mass, as published by McMaster.

