Scientists at the University of Virginia say women who store weight in their bellies may be genetically programed to do that, and they could also be at increased risk for diabetes.
Working with teams of scientists around the world, biomedical engineer Mete Civelek has confirmed a genetic cause for the belly fat that plagues some women.
"We discovered one stretch of DNA that effects the size of fat cells," he says, "and it makes them store more fat around their abdomen as opposed to their hips."
And it turns out those who have this genetic sequence are also at increased risk for Type II diabetes.
"If you are a woman who has inherited this gene from your mother, you’re at 28% higher risk compared to a man who inherited this risk gene from his father," he explains.
That was a surprise, Civelek says, because scientists had long thought genetic causes of diabetes were a function of insulin secretion from the pancreas. Now that researchers know about this other link to diabetes, they can start thinking about a drug that could help to prevent or treat the disease.