Recent research shows that an innovative approach to treating obesity that doesn’t include crash diets, weight reduction medications, or missing meals works very well for individuals who really need it and has no negative side effects. According to a study that was written up in the journal Nature Communications, your body would burn more calories if a single gene was removed from fat tissue.

Brown fat, often referred to as adipose tissue, is a kind of body fat that keeps you warm in the winter and is mostly controlled by the PHD2 gene. Additionally, brown fat helps your body burn calories and stores energy.

How is the procedure carried out?

The body’s metabolism, which turns food’s nutrients into energy, accelerated when this gene was removed from brown fat tissue, according to researchers from NTU’s School of Science and Technology.

According to the findings of the mouse research, even after consuming much more food, the animals without the gene burnt 60% more calories than those carrying the PHD2 gene. The results, according to researchers, may open the door to treating not just novel forms of obesity but also type 2 diabetes and other serious illnesses and ailments linked to being overweight.

The main study researcher, Dr. Zoi Michailidou, said in the publication that “reducing the gene’s effect may break the link between being overweight and type 2 diabetes, meaning our findings could be important for people with an increased risk of this disease.”

Targeting the PHD2 gene, according to Dr. Michailidou, “could open up new strategies to sustain weight loss by increasing metabolism and without the need for continuous dieting,” even if it is still too early and more human study is needed.

How was the research carried out?

Scientists claim that since the oxygen content at high altitudes, such as mountainous areas, is lower than at sea level, these locations may aid in boosting a person’s metabolism. With that in mind, the researchers set out to see whether they could replicate the effects of high altitude by deleting the PHD2 gene from brown fat tissue. This gene functions as what the researchers refer to as “an oxygen sensor for the body.”

The researchers next examined blood from over 5,000 individuals to get a better understanding of the impact of the PHD2 gene, after studies on mice that showed those without the gene burnt significantly more fat and calories. They discovered that those with more belly fat had higher amounts of the PHD2 protein, which is encoded by the PHD2 gene.

When people are exposed to cold temperatures, a unique kind of tissue known as brown fat becomes more active and burns calories. We have shown that calorie burning may occur in human and mouse cells even when they are not exposed to cold temperatures by deleting a protein that allows fat cells to recognize oxygen, according to Dr. Michailidou.

Why do scientists not support the Olympic Games?

Popular weight-loss medications like Ozempic are widely accessible and may effectively combat obesity, but according to experts, not everyone responds to them. As such, complementary lifestyle measures are required.

The researchers also found that the gene was linked to a higher risk of metabolic illnesses, including diabetes and thyroid issues.