If a cat is heavily infested with ticks, the parasites can drink enough blood to cause anemia (severe blood loss). Additionally, if your cat brings ticks into the house, your family members could be exposed to Lyme disease and other diseases that ticks can transmit if they bite people. Ticks can transmit a disease called cytauxzoonosis (pronounced sight-oh-zo-uh-nosis) to cats. 1  This disease causes serious illness and even death in infected cats. Cytauxzoonosis is actually caused by two parasites.
Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, the variation in how people respond to the environment that promotes physical inactivity and intake of high-calorie foods suggests that genes do play a role in the development of obesity.
For example, the incidence of type 2 diabetes has increased rapidly in teens, with obesity present in virtually all cases. In addition, obese children are more likely to be obese as adults. Thus, obesity puts a child's health at lifelong higher risk. Causes of childhood obesity Both genes and environment contribute to obesity, but the interaction is far from simple. Obesity is a complex condition with many interrelated causes. There is significant evidence that obesity is at least partly genetic. Certain ethnic groups are more vulnerable to obesity and obesity-related disorders. Genome-wide association studies show that some genes are associated with a higher body mass index.