A Gene That Mutes Appetite

Some people are thin all their lives. They never have to worry about obesity. They don’t feel compelled to think about what their next meal is going to be. The researchers told us that it’s because they have unusual metabolism rates that allow them to digest all they eat. Now some fresh research in Britain brings out a new reason.

It seems that these people carry a genetic alteration that tends to mute their appetite. The study was based on data from the UK BioBank and included a half million people in the age group of 40 to 69. The gene modification allows these people to reduce the chance of getting diabetes and heart disease as well.

Sadaf Farooqi, professor of metabolism and medicine at the University of Cambridge and Nick Wareham, an epidemiologist, led the study of appetite dulling mutation. The gene named MC4R was studied and it was found that those people who had a mutation in this gene were likely to be obese. Nearly 300 different types of mutations have been recorded in scientific study.

In thin people the gene MC4R is always turned off instead of on, leaving them with no real hunger or appetite to eat. This means that their brain is always telling them that they are satiated, they have no need to eat.