12 Dec 2015

Tony Merriman: sugar, gout and genes

From Saturday Morning, 9:05 am on 12 December 2015
Photo of Tony Merriman

Tony Merriman Photo: supplied

One in three New Zealand adults are obese. And the belief that people are fat because they eat too much and exercise too little has become eroded by our understanding of other factors.

Tony Merriman is a Professor in the Biochemistry Department, School of Medical Sciences, University of Otago, and an associate investigator at the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiversity. His research takes a genetic approach to understanding the biology of human disease. He talks with Kim Hill about genetics, metabolism and how our bodies deal with various types of food and drink.