Melbourne scientists find switch capable of turning weight gain on and off

MELBOURNE scientists have found the switch that controls our fat storage — and researchers hope it will spell the end to the effect of yo-yo dieting.

DIETERS’ dreams of permanent weight loss may become a reality after Melbourne scientists discovered the switch in a person’s brain that tells their body to put on extra fat.

If the switch can be safely controlled, the discovery could bring an end to the effect of yo-yo dieting, where any weight lost is quickly put back on as soon as a person resumes their normal eating patterns.

By being able to control the body’s ability to store excess fat, Monash University researchers hope to stop rebound weight gain as a treatment for obesity and disorders such as Type 2 diabetes.

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The team identified the protein that tells the body to switch between either burning or storing fat.

While examining the systems the brain uses to sense hunger, an international team led by Monash’s Associate Professor Zane Andrews identified the protein that tells the body to switch between either burning or storing fat.

“When you are fasting or have not eaten in a while, the body will naturally start burning fat because it needs to eat into its reserves to provide energy for the body,” Assoc Prof Andrews said.

“When we start eating a meal (again) these neurons help us switch from burring fat to burning carbohydrates from the food we ingest.

“If you can disable that switch then as you start eating food again your body will just maintain fat burning.”

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After identifying the fat storage protein — called carnitine acetyltransferase or Crat — the Monash team bred mice with the switch genetically turned off.

Results of the research published in the journal Cell Reports found that regardless of whether they were being fasted or fed after a period of dieting the mice continued to eat into their fat reserves at a greater than normal rate.

The discovery could bring an end to the effect of yo-yo dieting.

“In terms of a dieting situation, we think it is beneficial to not have Crat because you want to maintain that fat burring as you go off your diet,” Assoc Prof Andrews said.

But before dieters get too excited, the researchers warn there is a long way to go before the same switch can be safely flicked off in humans.

As well as being the switch for hunger-sensing neurons, the Crat protein is also present in other brain functions and shutting it down may also stop other vital systems.

However, if further studies can find ways of only altering the process in the brain’s hunger-related systems, Assoc Prof Andrews believes an opportunity exists to trick the brain into not replacing weight lost through diets.