Researchers from Goteburg University in Sweden have identified a gene that enables mice toe at a high-fat diet without piling on the piles. Dr Sven Enerback and his colleagues discovered that fat represented 30% of the body weight of normal mice, whereas mice specially bred to have an overactive FOXC2 gene had just 10% body fat. Further studies revealed that the specially bred mice gained 28% less weight than the normal mice when put on a high-fat diet. The researchers say that they have evidence to suggest that the human FOXC2 gene has a similar affect upon people, possibly explaining why some people are less prone to put on weight than others. The team are confident that their discovery could open up new avenues for the treatment of obesity and type II diabetes.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Cell 2001; 106:563-573
