BEIJING, Oct. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A gene mutation in some overweight children may greatly influence how much they eat, media reports said quoting a new U.S. study Monday.

    The study by researchers with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) examined blood samples from 149 overweight and healthy-weight children and adolescents to look for differences in a gene that is believed to have a role in controlling weight.

    The researchers fed all the children the same breakfast and then later in the day served them a lunch buffet with favorite foods such as chicken nuggets, chips, jelly beans and cookies along with some healthful choices, such as turkey breast, carrot sticks, lettuce and oranges.

    The children were each offered about 10,000 calories of food at lunch and could eat as much as they wanted.

    Researchers monitored consumption and found that 10 children who had mutations in a gene called the melanocortin 3 receptor consumed about 400 more calories than those with normal MC3R genes.

    NIH researcher David Savastano said the melanocortin 3 receptor "is just one piece of the complicated puzzle that shows how children decide what, and how much, to eat."

    Fewer than 5 percent of adults and children have the gene mutation, according to pediatric endocrinologist Jack Yanovski, head of the Unit on Growth and Obesity at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Md.

    "These findings are very preliminary. It's a pretty rare condition, so I don't know how important this particular gene will be for most people."  

    It will be years before treatments can be developed, Yanovski says.

    (Agencies)