Professor Yeo recently identified a genetic mutation contributing to obesity in Labrador retrievers.<\/p>\n
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Professor Giles Yeo to headline in the BVA Congress Theatre at London Vet Show.<\/p>\n
A renowned Cambridge professor, author and broadcaster will headline the BVA Congress offering at this year\u2019s London Vet Show with a talk on obesity.<\/p>\n
Giles Yeo, professor of molecular neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, will deliver the illustrious Wooldridge Memorial Lecture in the BVA Congress Theatre from 11am to 12:15pm on Friday 21 November.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe genetics of obesity: Can an old dog teach us new tricks?\u201d will focus on the \u201cleptin-melanocortin pathway\u201d and the role it plays in canine and human obesity, its conservation through evolution, and the evidence that genetics play a role in determining body weight.<\/p>\n
Professor Yeo said: \u201cDifferences in our genetic make-up mean some of us are slightly more hungry all the time and so eat more than others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will highlight the fat-sensing \u2018leptin-melanocortin\u2019 pathway, as a key appetite control circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only is the pathway conserved in all mammals and many higher vertebrates, but genetic disruption of the pathway as an evolutionary strategy to influence feeding behaviour has also been conserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Genetic mutation<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIn contrast to the prevailing view, obesity is not a choice. People who are obese are not bad or lazy; rather, they are fighting their biology.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of his work at the university\u2019s Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit and as scientific director of its Genomics\/Transcriptomics Core, Prof Yeo and colleagues recently identified a genetic mutation in Labrador retrievers that significantly increases the breed\u2019s propensity for obesity and food motivation.<\/p>\n
The mutation \u2013 found to be present in approximately a quarter of Labradors and two-thirds of flat-coated retrievers \u2013 in the proopiomelanocortin gene disrupts the production of hormones that regulate appetite and energy balance.<\/p>\n
Prof Yeo has authored two books on obesity, Gene Eating: The Story Of Human Appetite and Why Calories Don\u2019t Count, hosts a podcast on the subject \u2013 Dr Giles Yeo Chews The Fat \u2013 and he has appeared on BBC programmes including Horizon and Trust Me, I\u2019m a Doctor.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ground-breaking\u2019<\/p>\n
BVA president Elizabeth Mullineaux said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted that we can offer him this opportunity to share the results and ramifications of his ground-breaking research with the veterinary audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure our BVA Congress delegates will appreciate both Dr Yeo\u2019s scientific knowledge and his dynamic delivery style and I\u2019m personally looking forward to learning more about this exciting topic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Named posthumously after veterinary politician and researcher W.R. Wooldridge, the Wooldridge Memorial Lecture was first held in 1967, the year following his death.<\/p>\n
Past speakers have included the Princess Royal (1992), chief scientific adviser Sir Robert May (1999), and bestselling author and animal behaviourist John Bradshaw (2015).<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s lecture was delivered by leading conservationist Dave Goulson on the role vets play in companion animal parasiticides and biodiversity, while in 2023 eminent researcher Susan Michie held a presentation on how changing human behaviour can improve animal welfare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Professor Yeo recently identified a genetic mutation contributing to obesity in Labrador retrievers. Share Professor Giles Yeo to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[200,79],"class_list":["post-77398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-genetics","tag-genetics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}