They are identical in almost every way, except one twin is fat and the other is thin. Now a study of this rare group is shedding light on a medical mystery: how some people can be obese and perfectly healthy.
Jussi Naukkarinen at the University of Helsinki in Finland and his colleagues turned to a registry of identical twins, picking 16 pairs whose body weight differed by 17 kilograms on average. In unhealthy obese twins, they found, genes involved in inflammation were activated – genes that were not activated their thin twin. The activity of cellular powerhouses called mitochondria seemed to be suppressed as well. But in healthy obese twins, gene expression was similar to that of the thin twin.
Read the full, original story here: Hefty twins shed light on obesity paradox
