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New Mechanism Halts Fat Production After Eating, Could Treat Obesity
A new study discovered that a mechanism in our body switches off the body's fat production process hours after eating. Read the details.
Health
A new, previously unknown, mechanism that plays an integral part in regulating fat production in our body has been found to switch off hours after we eat, as per a new study.
Scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discovered the mechanism is abnormal in obese people, and those suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
The study was published in Nature Communications on Tuesday.
What the team discovered about obesity
After eating, our body kickstarts its metabolic system, one part of which involves the pancreas, which produces insulin, which in turn triggers the liver to convert food into fat for our body to store — this process is called lipogenesis.
The process that comes a few hours after we've eaten is what has been previously unknown — until now.
The study, led by molecular and integrative physiology professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Jongsook Kim Kemper, discovered that the gut hormone found in mice, FGF15, known as FGF19 in humans, switched off fat-production in the liver.