Mixed
Gene-by-environment interactions are the primary drivers of body weight regulation, and neither the set point nor settling point models fully explain obesity without considering these interactions.
Your weight is determined by how your specific genetics respond to your specific environment. You cannot change your genes, but you can change your environment. Effective weight management requires recognizing that what works for one person (genotype) in one environment may not work for another, and interventions must be tailored to this interaction.
The shortcomings of these two models reflect their failure to address the gene-by-environment interactions that dominate the regulation of body weight.
Why this rating
The paper is a theoretical review arguing for this integration, citing twin studies and drug responses as evidence of GxE interactions.
Source
Set points, settling points and some alternative models: theoretical options to understand how genes and environments combine to regulate body adiposity
John R. Speakman et al. · Disease Models & Mechanisms · 2011
DOI 10.1242/dmm.008698
More from this paper
- Body fatness is regulated by an active biological feedback system (set point) involving signals like leptin that defend a target level of adiposity by modulating intake and expenditure.Good
- Body weight and adiposity settle at a level determined by environmental factors (intake) and passive physical constraints (expenditure proportional to mass), without an active defended set point.Good
Related findings · Mixed
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- For patients with Class III obesity (BMI >39.9 kg/m2), metabolic bariatric surgery (MBS) is significantly more effective than any currently approved medication, with BilioPancreatic Diversion (BPD) showing the highest estimated weight loss.Strong
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