A sedentary lifestyle, long work hours sitting down and junk food are some of the things that cause obesity -- a condition that affects more and more people around the world every day.
According to the latest report on global obesity released by UNICEF in July, obesity in children and adults has caused an increase in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, joint diseases and some types of cancers, reported CNN.
This is why investigation on the cause and prevention of obesity has become an important vein of research by scientists around the world.
According to information published by EFE, a team of Swiss scientists has discovered a gene that inhibits the development of obesity in mice, something that may represent the foundation of a future drug that could fight obesity in people.
The results of the study, released last Wednesday December 18, revealed that a group of genetically modified mice were subjected to a diet rich in fats and sugar.
In an investigation that lasted 15 years, scientists from the Université de Lausanne (UNIL) in Switzerland discovered that mice subjected to this study presented a partial deficiency of the MCR1 gene, a lactates transporter, and less accumulation of fat on the liver.
The professor of the Physiology Institute of the UNIL, Luc Pellerin, told the media, "While wild mice increased their body weight by 16.7 percent after 12 weeks, transgenic mice only increased it by 7.7 percent," according to EFE.
The results are promising since they could be the first step in the research of a possible blocker of the MCR1 gene in humans through a synthesis inhibitor that might help millions of people suffering from this condition.