The British researchers have an answer to why Indians gain weight especially around the waist, despite best efforts. Well, it’s in their genes. The researchers have found that Indian people are more likely to carry a gene sequence linked to an expanding waist line, weight gain and type 2 diabetes.

According to a team led by Imperial College London, the gene sequence is carried by 50% of the population - but is a third more common in Indian Asians. It sits close to - and possibly influences - a gene called MC4R, which regulates energy levels in the body by influencing how much we eat and how much energy we expend or conserve, and which has been directly implicated in rare forms of extreme childhood obesity.

The researchers found that the sequence is associated with a 2cm expansion in waist circumference, a 2kg gain in weight, and a tendency to become resistant to insulin, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

The findings of the Nature Genetics study could lead to new obesity treatments. They might provide a possible genetic explanation for the particularly high levels of obesity in Indian Asians, who make up 25% of the world's population, but who are expected to account for 40% of global cardiovascular disease by 2020.