The Importance of Genetic Propensity for Disease
Garrett Boone
Professor McCabe
ENGL 110
November 1, 2012
The Importance of Genetic Propensity for Disease
In this new modern world, it is common to believe that there is a cure out there for everything. Treatments for cancer are getting better every year, and the methods for delivering insulin to Diabetes patients has become more refined and precise. However, these are all focused on cures, and very little attention is spent on prevention. The main reason for this is that the exact causes of these diseases are not completely clear. The ways a person interacts with their environment has an obvious effect on what they have a higher likelihood of contracting. It is more likely, for example, for an obese person to develop Diabetes than it is for a fit person. However, the fact remains that there are obese people with an extremely small chance to contract Diabetes, while people who are physically fit their entire lives contract it despite their health. The reason for this is genetic predisposition. Essentially, while there are clear environmental issues that factor into diseases, research has shown that there are genes in every person that determines their capability to obtain certain diseases. Genetic predisposition is a very difficult thing to prove conclusively, unfortunately. The sheer number of different gene formations that can lead to a small increase in the chance to contract one disease or another is staggering. While there is an undeniable influence that genetic predisposition has on a person’s chances of contracting a disease, their chances of contraction can be lowered by using the environment to their advantage. One of the most common diseases for research on genetic predisposition is Diabetes. This is partly due, according to researcher Kenneth L. Jones, to the rapidly increasing occurrences of type 2 Diabetes in children (1). One of the most worrying factors is how quickly this disease has become widespread over the past few decades. In fact,
Professor McCabe
ENGL 110
November 1, 2012
The Importance of Genetic Propensity for Disease
In this new modern world, it is common to believe that there is a cure out there for everything. Treatments for cancer are getting better every year, and the methods for delivering insulin to Diabetes patients has become more refined and precise. However, these are all focused on cures, and very little attention is spent on prevention. The main reason for this is that the exact causes of these diseases are not completely clear. The ways a person interacts with their environment has an obvious effect on what they have a higher likelihood of contracting. It is more likely, for example, for an obese person to develop Diabetes than it is for a fit person. However, the fact remains that there are obese people with an extremely small chance to contract Diabetes, while people who are physically fit their entire lives contract it despite their health. The reason for this is genetic predisposition. Essentially, while there are clear environmental issues that factor into diseases, research has shown that there are genes in every person that determines their capability to obtain certain diseases. Genetic predisposition is a very difficult thing to prove conclusively, unfortunately. The sheer number of different gene formations that can lead to a small increase in the chance to contract one disease or another is staggering. While there is an undeniable influence that genetic predisposition has on a person’s chances of contracting a disease, their chances of contraction can be lowered by using the environment to their advantage. One of the most common diseases for research on genetic predisposition is Diabetes. This is partly due, according to researcher Kenneth L. Jones, to the rapidly increasing occurrences of type 2 Diabetes in children (1). One of the most worrying factors is how quickly this disease has become widespread over the past few decades. In fact,
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