WASHINGTON, D.C.
In what they call a “stunning research advance,” researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they know how to treat diseases associated with human obesity.
In the paper, the researchers describe a mechanism they found by which stress activates weight gain in mice, and they say this pathway – which they were able to manipulate – may explain why people who are chronically stressed gain more weight than they should based on the calories they consume.
The discovery, published in Nature Medicine, could revolutionize human cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgery and treatment of diseases associated with obesity.
“We couldn’t believe such fat remodeling was possible, but the numerous different experiments conducted over four years demonstrated that it is, at least in mice,” said senior author, Dr. Zofia Zukowska, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at Georgetown University Medical Center.
“We are hopeful that these findings might eventually lead to control of metabolic syndrome, which is a huge health issue for many Americans,” she said.
The findings could provide some comfort to stressed individuals who blame themselves for a weight gain that seems outsized given the food they eat, added Dr. Lydia Kuo, another contributor to the study.
