London: The secret to staying slim could be all in your genes. Scientists say they have found the ‘gluttony gene' which fails to tell your brain when you are full.
In tests, a mutation on a single gene broke down communication in the body, leading to non-stop eating and rapid weight gain. The reseachers hope identifying the gene could help with treatments for obesity.
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Centre in the US studied variations in the Bdnf gene — which is linked to human obesity — in mice
After a meal, the gene transmits chemical signals to the brain's hypothalamus, which interprets them and suppresses appetite.
However, the researchers found that the usual ‘long' version of the gene can mutate into a ‘short' form. In mice, those with a short Bdnf were unable to transmit the chemicals leptin and insulin to their target effectively, leading to the mice eating twice as much. Those with the ‘long' gene form successfully sent the signals to say ‘I'm full' through the brain to the hypothalamus.
Lead researcher Dr Baoki Xu said: "This discovery may open up novel strategies to help the brain control body weight."
Scientists will now be looking at whether the faulty transmission line can be modified, to help prevent and treat obesity, the researchers wrote in the journal Nature Medicine.
