The search for the elusive ‘fat gene'

Foods to help prevent weight gain

One question the Diogenes researchers investigate is what kinds of foods help people to keep their weight down or to avoid regaining weight. They found that the best were those with a high level of protein, because they produce a feeling of fullness. High-fibre, unrefined foods also help people to keep the weight off.

But people who want to lose weight should not assume that a plate of brown rice is the ideal slimmer's diet: a variety of flavours helps to make people feel full – or as Wim Saris at Maastricht University puts it, “a fuller bouquet of flavours produces a high satiety level”. #

Getting people to eat more fish oils

Health experts regularly tell people to eat oily fish, such as salmon or mackerel, because of its high content of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But most adults barely manage half of the 450mg daily intake of omega-3 fatty acids that experts recommend, while people from low-income families get 50mg per day less than the well-off.

The Lipgene researchers looked at other ways of getting omega-3 fatty acids into the food chain, in a way that is compatible with people's dietary preferences and the depletion of fish stocks. Their research suggested that making animal feed from plants that have been genetically modified to contain omega-3 could get these useful fats into the food chain. But whether consumers will buy omega-3 enhanced meat, milk and eggs depends on a change in public attitudes to biotechnology and food.