Blessed to stay Slim amidst many Obese!

High rates obesity is a global concern today as the numbers have been on rise in the developed and less developed world alike. Despite growing numbers, few people remain slim even when they are living in an obesogenic environment.  

According to a study conducted by Rachel et al, from the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, which compared two groups consisting individuals that are obesity resistant (ORIs) and obesity susceptible individuals (OSIs). The study found that sensitivity to oral fatty acids remained as the root cause for making certain individuals fat.

In order to prove their argument, the researchers have conducted a test called ‘triplicate triangle’ amongst 50 ORIs and 36 OSIs and have compared the oral fatty acid sensitivity and fat ranking ability between the two groups.  Participants are asked to taste three varieties of milk, one sample with oleic acid and two samples without oleic acids. Individuals that are sensitive to fatty acids picked up Oleic acid in three of the samples and those that are free from the fat acid sensitivity could resist the intake of oleic acid.

Fat ranking test was conducted to examine their ability to differentiate the fat content of custards containing 0%, 2%, 6%, and 10% canola oil (Sunfield, Tasti Products Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand) and the participants were asked to rank the custard samples from the highest to the lowest fat level and scores based on their ability to rank the samples was recorded based on a previous study by Stewart et al.

The study found sufficient support to claim that Hypersensitivity to oral fatty acids among ORIs may influence their dietary fat intake, and thus their body weight regulation. Future larger studies are needed to confirm this. The researchers however maintain that future studies with more number of samples need to be conducted to confirm the fact that sensitivity to Oral Fatty Acids is the main cause to become obese.