Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Of Mice & (Wo)Men: When's the last time you saw an 5'4" 130 pound fat woman?

I'm always amused when a rodent study that seemingly counters the calorie-based theories on obesity comes down the pike.  In predictable fashion, someone in the LC webosphere will pick up on it and use it as an example to counter calorie-based theories on weight/obesity.   A recent example of this is brought to us by low carbers' favorite comedian edutainer, Tom Naughton:  Fat Mice & The Laws of Thermodynamics that referenced the following study:  Mild calorie Restriction Induces Fat Accumulation in Female c57BL/6J Mice.  

Now Tom starts out misrepresenting things by picturing a fat mouse, likely an ob/ob.  This study actually involved females of the strain pictured below:

Kind of a cute little critter, no?   The study was also conducted in the context of calorie restriction and it's demonstrated increase in longevity of mice.  They are not a mutant strain genetically predisposed to obesity.

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