Fat genes could affect metabolic rate of individuals with high BMIs (Photo : REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE)
Researchers have discovered how a faulty fat gene can cause food that has been broken down to be stored as fat instead of being converted into energy and lead to obesity.
Scientists believe this new discovery could hold the key to aiding in the battle against the bulge, according to the Independent.
The fat gene, also known as FTO, was identified by researchers in 2007 and since then has been known to be found in various variants among individuals who possess high Body Mass Index (BMI) figures.
The recent study, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, saw researchers at the Harvard Medical School and at MIT using cell samples from healthy Europeans who possessed faulty as well as healthy versions of the gene.
The study has shown that the faulty gene has a tendency to convert excess energy from food into fat rather than allow it to be burned, which contributes to obesity.
Senior author Manolis Kellis, who was part of the team that carried out the research at MIT, told the publication that for years obesity has been considered to be a combination between excess eating and a lack of exercise while the effect of genetic contributions on individual metabolisms have been ignored.
Kellis pointed out that for the first time this research could shed light on how medically drugs can play a role in getting faulty genes in fat cells to work in a certain way.
According to the Telegraph, fat genes are responsible for more than a fifth of obesity globally. The publication said recent findings regarding fat gene behavious could fuel actions to have obesity categorized as a disability in the United Kingdom.
