Obesity is one of the most prevalent problems that North America is facing today, it is affecting many people in many different areas of the country and it is one of the most harrowing sicknesses.
The problem itself is not limiting as well and obesity is not exclusive to a certain group, or sex or age, it affects everyone and anyone. It is considered as a disease and like every debilitating disease, it has many side effects.
Obesity is understood as excessive weight in one person, there are numerous levels of obesity with the worst being type III obese.
Now, it is understood the food and daily diet is very important, and there are many food in the market today that are way unhealthy, but what many people don't understand obesity is not actually just a problem that is cause by excessive intake of food and unhealthy diet, and/or a stagnant lifestyle, but it has been recently found that a person may be predisposed to obesity through a mutation in a certain gene.
Researchers at the National Institute of Health suggest that a single gene mutation may be what it takes to make a person obese.
Scientists have found that a rare version of the BDNF gene can make people predispose to obesity by limiting the creation of a BDNF protein, which is found in the brain and helps in regulating the appetite.
But the researchers in NIH are looking into the problem and creating a way to create a therapeutic treatment that may be able to boost the BDNF protein levels and combat the effects of the lack thereof.
"The BDNF gene has previously been linked to obesity, and scientists have been working for several years to understand how changes in this particular gene may predispose people to obesity," Dr. Jack Yanovski, one of the researchers and author of the study, as well as an investigator of NIH, said.
