The obesity outbreak is highly attributable to dietary and behavioral trends acting on a person’s genetic makeup to determine body mass and susceptibility to obesity-related disease. After various studies and findings, researchers have asserted that a single disparity or variation in the gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) may influence obesity in children and adults. The research was funded by the National Institute of Health.
The findings suggest that a less common form of the BDNF gene may be susceptible to causing obesity in people. This occurs due to production of lower levels of BDNF protein which acts as a regulator of appetite in the brain.
The research team has indicated and proposed that boosting BDNF protein levels may offer a curative strategy for those people with the genetic variation in order to help them overcome obesity.
“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,” said Jack A. Yanovski, M.D., Ph.D., one of the study authors and an investigator at NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
“This study explains how a single genetic change in BDNF influences obesity and may affect BDNF protein levels. Finding people with specific causes of obesity may allow us to evaluate effective, more-personalized treatments.”
The BDNF protein is an essential protein that plays a great variety of role in the brain and the nervous system and can surely invigorate the feeling of fullness when its levels are high. Obesity appears to be a crucial health concern occurring around the world. This is due to a number of factors; the first and foremost being peoples high calorie diets, increased consumption of packaged and preserved food. Obesity can lead to serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes and many other chronic diseases.
It is important to keep in mind the observation that was made by researchers and highlighted, which is that genetic change is not due to a rare mutation, but rather a variation occurring in the general population.
The study was funded by NICHD and other NIH institutes, including the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Human Genome Research Institute.
To understand and cross examine why the C allele causes obesity, the genetic area that differs the C and T alleles, the team conducted a thorough examination and came to the conclusion that boosting BDNF levels could prove to serve the purpose.
“Lower BDNF levels may contribute to obesity in people with the C allele. If these findings are supported by additional studies, boosting BDNF levels may prove beneficial,” said Dr. Han.
In a nutshell, there is no doubt that obesity is a complex disease which can be caused due to synergetic blend of a wide variety of hereditary as well as environmental factors.
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