A new way to fight obesity could be just around the corner. A team of researchers in the United States have discovered a new way to treat obesity and metabolic diseases by activating a chemical in the body.
The study, published online in the journal The FASEB Journal, suggests that using the estrogen receptor Beta (ER-Beta) to activate a chemical called Beta-LGND2 can help improve the metabolic rate. The researchers based their conclusion on the study conducted in mice.
According to the researchers, activating beta-LGND2 helped reduce the risk of metabolic disease and obesity in mice. This was made possible by the conversion of white fat into brown fat.
Typically, brown fat is considered good for health as it helps with weight loss and also increases the metabolism. This, in turn, helps fight obesity.
The researchers say that obesity s not treated as a life-threatening condition. However, it is an underlying problem behind a number of conditions that may contribute to increases mortality. This is the reason why there is a need for an effective treatment for obesity.
The team further believes that targeting oestrogen receptor-beta could be one of the safest ways to tackle obesity, according to NDTV. However, further research is needed to arrive at a concrete conclusion.
During the study, the team used three groups of mice. The first group was given normal diet, while the other two groups of mice were fed with high fat diet to make them obese. Out of the two groups of obese mice, one group was treated with vehicle, while the other group was treated with beta-LGND2.
At the end of the trial, the researchers noticed that the group of obese mice treated with beta-LGND2 was significantly leaner than the other group. In addition, they showed higher metabolic rate in terms of increased oxygen consumption and higher body temperature.
The researchers believe that a similar effect can be seen in humans as well.
