A Beer-gut gene that gives fellas flabby tummies has been discovered by scientists.

The medical breakthrough proves that guzzling ale is not the only reason why men develop saggy stomachs. They can also inherit from their parents a body make-up much more likely to run to fat.

The beer-gut gene was tracked down by Italian experts. They found that men with a particular variant of it called DD were twice as likely to get fat. And they are also significantly more likely to put on the pounds around their midriff.

Dr Carol Cooper said: "This sounds like a New Year's gift for all those guys who are tubby round the middle but aren't ready to give up the trips to the boozer. You're stuck with the genes you're born with, which could be just the excuse lardy lads who like a drink are looking for."

Dr Pasquale Strazzullo warned the findings might not apply to British men - because the research was based entirely on Italians.

科学家发现有一种基因会让小伙子们长出松松垮垮的啤酒肚。

医学上的这一突破表明，男人们的啤酒肚并不完全是因为狂饮啤酒而造成的。他们还有可能早就从父母那里继承了易发胖的体形。

啤酒肚基因是由意大利专家发现的。他们发现，体内携带一种被称作DD的特殊基因变体的男子发胖的几率是常人的两倍。而且值得注意的是，这些人发胖的部位更有可能是腰腹部。

卡罗尔·库珀医生说："对于那些'腰挂游泳圈'却又不肯停止饮酒的男士来说，这一发现听起来是不错的新年礼物。贪杯的胖小伙们一定乐意把天生有肥胖基因看成是很好的借口。"

而珀斯夸尔医生则警告说，该研究结果也许并不适用于英国男士--因为调查完全是在意大利人中进行的。