A group of scientists are claiming that they have discovered how the faulty obesity gene works, and could be on the verge of discovering the cure to the problem of obesity that currently affects more than five million people across the globe.

According to Independent, researchers at MIT and Harvard Medical School have said that they have been successful in discovering the way the faulty gene works. The fat gene or FTO gene was discovered in 2007. Reports claim that when this gene goes faulty, it causes the Body Mass Index to rise and leads to them becoming obese.Through their research, the scientists have discovered the faulty gene amongst the pool and are hoping that their findings will lead them to discover a cure to the obesity problem as well. As the report explains, when this gene goes faulty, it forces the body to store food instead of burning the calories. The study has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Explaining the process of the research, the report goes on to explain that samples from Europeans were tested. These samples had a healthy or faulty version of the FTO gene. The report also goes on to explain that obesity has been traditionally regarded as the result of an imbalance between the amount of food eaten and the calories burnt. This traditional view tends to overlook the role of the gene pool in causing the condition, as stated by senior author Manolis Kellis.

It is believed that decoding the way the fat gene works will help the medical community to develop new drugs that could possible control the way these cells work and therefore prevent the onset of obesity. Meanwhile, in another related report on Ecumenical News, it is explained that even though the drug to cure obesity is a futuristic project, there are certain types of foods that can actually block the gene or inhibit its function. The diet that people should follow to reverse the function of the fat gene or block its inherent ability has been discussed in Zero Belly Diet by David Zinczenko.

Tagsfat gene, FTO gene, zero belly diet