Research: Slim without diets is possible

News24xx.com -  A group of scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA) found that a separate gene can be responsible for human thinness, which, according to the authors, will help in the invention of a “harmony medicine”.

The results of the study are published in the journal Cell.

“Most scientists study obesity and the genetics of obesity. We just changed tactics and studied thinness, opening up a new field for research,” Joseph Penninger, one of the authors of the work, said.

Scientists have studied the database of the Estonian Center for Genetics and identified a group of people who do not grow fat regardless of the food they eat. Among them, the authors began to search for common genetic markers.

As it turned out, a mutation of the ALK gene may be responsible for thinness. Suppression of its synthesis, according to research, can lead to accelerated fat burning.

"ALK has been extensively studied in the context of cancer, but little is known about the biological role of this gene outside this context," said Michael Orthofer, one of the study’s leaders.

Tests on animals and insects have shown that disabling ALK in the hypothalamus, which is noted to be the central point of metabolic coordination, leads to fat burning. Scientists believe that a detailed study of this gene can lead science to a new era in the fight against obesity.