It sounds too good to be true, but a novel approach that might allow you to eat as much as you want without gaining weight could be a reality in the near future.
When a single gene known as RCAN1 was removed in mice and they were fed, they failed to gain weight, even after gorging on high-fat foods for prolonged periods.
The international team, led by Associate Professor Beverly Rothermel at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Professor Damien Keating at Flinders University, are hopeful a similar approach that inhibits this gene will also be effective with humans to combat obesity and serious diseases like diabetes.
The study used a large genetic screen in rodents to identify novel genetic candidates that may cause obesity, potentially paving the way for new drug therapies.
“We know a lot of people struggle to lose weight or even control their weight for a number of different reasons,” says Professor Keating, from the Molecular and Cellular Physiology Laboratory at the College of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders.
“The findings in this study could mean developing a pill which would target the function of RCAN1 and may result in weight loss,” he says.
Obesity is a major global health epidemic, resulting in increased risk of serious diseases like type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, but avenues for effective therapeutic treatments are lacking.
There are two types of fat in the human body – brown fat burns energy, while white fat stores energy.
Professor Keating says blocking RCAN1 helps to transform unhealthy white fat into healthy brown fat, presenting a potential treatment method in the fight against obesity.
“We have already developed a series of drugs that target the protein that this gene makes, and we are now in the process of testing them to see if they inhibit RCAN1 and whether they might represent potential new anti-obesity drugs,” he says.
“In light of our results, the drugs we are developing to target RCAN1 would burn more calories while people are resting.
“It means the body would store less fat without the need for a person to reduce food consumption or exercise more.”
Two-thirds of Australian adults and a quarter of children are either overweight or obese, and the statistics are just as concerning in Britain and the US.
“Co-investigators in the research, Dr David Rotter and Heshan Peiris, looked at a variety of different diets with various timespans from eight weeks up to six months, and in every case we saw health improvements in the absence of the RCAN1 gene,” says Professor Keating, an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Neuroscience at Flinders University.
The researchers say these findings open up a potentially simple treatment but further studies are required to determine if they translate the same results to humans.
“Our research is focused on understanding how cells send signals to each other and how this impacts health and the spread of disease”.
“We really want to pursue this, it’s exciting and we have research funding from the Australian government through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to continue to explore viable options.
“These results show we can potentially make a real difference in the fight again obesity.”
Learn more: Gene discovery holds promise against obesity
The Latest on: Obesity
[google_news title=”” keyword=”obesity” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Obesity
- Lexi had surgery for obesity at 12. Now she could be facing a lifetime on weight-loss drugson April 27, 2024 at 1:41 pm
One in five children and adolescents in the United States are affected by obesity. And parents are turning to radical treatments like surgery and weight-loss drugs.
- Reyna: How IDEA Mission is taking action against rising obesity rateson April 27, 2024 at 7:10 am
Recognizing the urgency, the IDEA Mission HOSA Obesity Awareness Campaign has taken proactive measures to address this critical health issue head-on.
- Why the obesity drug market is about to get a lot more crowdedon April 26, 2024 at 7:48 am
The U.S. is set to see a surge in obesity drug introductions over the next five years. Here’s a rundown of the potential entrants.
- Managing Obesity Can Lead to Sarcopenia: A 'Hidden' Problemon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
ASUNCIÓN, PARAGUAY — Sarcopenic obesity, which is characterized by excess adiposity and muscle loss, is an "underestimated and underdiagnosed" condition, said the panelists at a session of the XV ...
- Advocates urge Austin to act on active duty obesity ‘epidemic’on April 25, 2024 at 12:45 pm
In a 2022 report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 19% of active duty service members were obese, up from 16% in 2015. The report said DOD spends about $1.5 billion a year in ...
- 3 Foods That Make It Ridiculously Hard to Lose Belly Fat, According to Obesity Medicine Docson April 25, 2024 at 3:25 am
"Diet is what contributes to losing or gaining fat," says Dr. Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center. "The ...
- 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries with obesity could get Wegovy despite coverage banon April 24, 2024 at 3:00 am
An estimated 3.6 million Medicare beneficiaries could potentially access Wegovy now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug for reducing the risk of incidents related to ...
- Obesity in Wales worse than feared - researcherson April 23, 2024 at 2:54 pm
According to official figures, 26% of adults in Wales are classed as obese, but the innovation charity Nesta says the true figure is 34%, the equivalent of an extra 200,000 people. That would make ...
- Working Out in the Evening Linked to Greater Health Benefits for People Who Have Obesityon April 22, 2024 at 10:36 am
People with obesity saw greatest long-term health benefits when they exercised between 6 p.m. and midnight, according to a new study.
- April obesity prescriber survey: Treatment time riseson April 19, 2024 at 8:18 am
Despite improving supply, coverage, and a willingness by some to pay out of pocket, physicians still face hurdles getting patients onto Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.
via Bing News