Lose weight with this gene
Bummed about your dress size? Blame mom and dad.
According to a new study conducted by Dr. Jonathan Graff at The University of Texas, humans may carry a gene that determines whether or not they gain weight or maintain slender figures. But before you add this to your mile-long list of parental grievances, take heart. The Daily Mail reports that that identifying this "skinny gene" could result in more effective weight loss treatments if doctors are able to manipulate it.
Explains Graff, "From worms to mammals, this gene controls fat formation. It could explain why so many people struggle to lose weight and suggests an entirely new direction for developing medical treatments that address the current epidemic of obesity. People who want to fit in their jeans might some day be able to overcome their genes."
During his study Graff adjusted the adipose gene in various animals, and found that the test subjects with the most active levels were less likely to gain weight. This could pave the way for fat-burning medications that act as a sort of dimmer to regulate the gene.
"It can be turned up or down, not just on or off," Graff says. "Maybe if you could affect this gene, even just a little bit, you might have a beneficial effect on fat."