They say that all diseases are treatable, even weight is considered a disease. According to British scientist, there is a possibility that weight-loss pills can be considered.
Of course, when we are talking about weight we mean people with obesity, however, who wouldn’t like to miss the opportunity to lose weight without having to break a sweat?
It was discovered that four million Brits carry genes that protect them against obesity , type 2 diabetes and heart disease.The discovery could lead to the development of pills that help people lose weight, say British scientists.
One of the proteins, known as MC4R, acts as a ‘brain switch’. It tells us to stop eating after a meal. Those with mutations that disrupt this chemical pile on the pounds.
There are also others that boost it – keeping carriers slim – offering hope of medications that mimic its effects.
Experiments showed the latter stopped the gene from working – while the former kept it turned on.
Professor Sadaf Farooqi, of the Metabolic Research Laboratories at Cambridge University, said: “This study drives home the fact genetics plays a major role in why some people are obese – and some people are fortunate enough to have genes that protect them from obesity.”
Co-lead author Dr Luca Lotta, senior clinical investigator at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit, said: “A powerful emerging concept is that genetic variants that protect against disease can be used as models for the development of medicines that are more effective and safer.
“Our findings may pave the way for a new generation of weight loss therapies that activate MC4R preferentially via the beta-arrestin pathway.”
Recent research warned half of Britons will be obese by 2045 if current trends are not halted.
Almost one in three adults are now estimated to be obese – which is set to rise to
48 per cent in the next three decades.
The figure is more than double the forecast global average of 22 per cent, said the University College London report.
The US the only developed country predicted to fare worse – reaching 55 per cent.
Around 10 per cent of adults in the UK already have type two diabetes, which is closely linked to excess weight.
The data presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna last year suggested this will reach almost 13 per cent by 2045.
Professor Nick Wareham, director of the epidemiology unit at the MRC which funded Prof Farooqi’s study, added: “Genetic studies of thousands of people and a functional understanding of the mechanisms behind protective genetic variants can really help us inform the development of a new generation of medicines for common diseases like obesity and diabetes that affect millions of people globally.”