Obesity Gene: Researchers Find the Reason for One's Overeating, Links to Insulin Resistance, and MORE

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 27 December 2022, 01:12 am

Researchers from the Osaka Metropolitan University have found the reason behind a person's overeating and indulgence in high-calorie food, one that links to a morbid disease known as Obesity. In this study, researchers found the "Obesity Gene," and a deficiency in this particular sequence of DNA can lead to a person's uncontrolled and unexplainable cravings for high-calorie foods.

Obesity Gene: Deficiency in this Can Lead to Overeating

(Photo : i yunmai on Unsplash)

The Osaka Metropolitan University's recent release centers on its discovery of the CRTC1 gene, and the researchers behind it claimed that it has significant ties to obesity.

Specifically, people have more cravings or enticement to high-calorie foods, one that cannot be solved with logic that one imposes on another regarding their health.

According to the researchers, "CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 1 (CRTC1) is associated with obesity in humans. When CRTC1 is deleted in mice, they become obese, indicating that functioning CRTC1 suppresses obesity."

Still, there is a problem faced by researchers in this study.

"However, since CRTC1 is expressed in all neurons in the brain, the specific neurons responsible for suppressing obesity and the mechanism present in those neurons remained unknown."

Researchers Discover the Secret Gene Behind Obesity

In the research published in the FASEB Journal, the researchers also focused on the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) expressing neurons.

They created a strain of mice that are CRTC1-deficient and expressing the MC4R, and when fed a high-calorie and high-sugar diet, they became obese and developed diabetes.

In the end, the researchers claimed that the CRTC1 links greatly to obesity, and aims for this study to help better understand what causes people to overeat.

Obesity and the Problems it Causes

Obesity is a massive problem in the United States, and it is one of the leading causes of death and other diseases in the country. Back in 2021, a study linked to obesity saw that the growing use and reliance on technology may be one of its causes, and while people do not eat devices, the massive reliance and its use has people out of shape during the pandemic.

For a long time now, this comorbidity has been a massive problem in the country and it is still one in the present.

And while it does not discriminate on body shapes and sizes, taking in too much of foods and beverages, especially those with high calories, sugar, and artificial ingredients tend to store more fat that remains unused, one that takes a toll on health.

Moreover, a study proved that a wider waistline and higher BMI have links to greater brain thinning as people age, and may also result in neurological problems.

There are many diseases linked to obesity, and one cannot deny the fact that too much of something is bad, and the same goes for food and an unhealthy lifestyle. However, not all can be blamed on a person's uncontrollable urges, as it has roots that are far deeper than one knows, with the recent discovery of the CRTC1 gene in the body.