North American scientists have discovered a genetic switch that works inside human fat cells rather than in our brains to control our appetite.
This switch decides whether the kilojoules that we retain from our food are used as energy – to be burned immediately by the body as fuel – or stored as fat for future use.
“Everyone carries this genetic circuit that can switch our fat cells from storing energy to burning energy,” explains research scientist Manolis Kellis, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “That means that by intervening in the right genes we can tune the metabolism of individuals who are obese whether or not this obesity has a genetic root. This ability can change the equation of the obesity epidemic across the global population.”
This is a huge leap forward in our ability to confront obesity, says Kellis.
“We now have the ability within our lifetime to consider therapeutic changes and treatment for obesity. It represents a third path beyond nutrition and exercise but changing our metabolisms directly and that is a game changer in the field of obesity.”
Scientists are now working on ways to apply the discovery.
