Research by a group at Nagoya University has revealed that the so-called "middle-age weight gain," which is common in people in their 40s and 50s, is thought to be caused by aging and overeating that cause the antennae of nerve cells in the brain that promote metabolism to shrink. Ta.
A group led by Professor Kazuhiro Nakamura of the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine is using rats to investigate the previously unknown mechanism of "middle-aged weight gain," in which people tend to gain weight as they age. I looked into it.
According to the group, there is a protein called ``MC4R'' in nerve cells in a part of the rat brain that receives information that ``you are gaining weight'' as fat accumulates, promoting metabolism and reducing the amount of food you eat. This means that they are issuing a command to do so.
This protein captures information through antennas called "primary cilia," and it has been found that these antennas shrink with age.
In addition, rats that ate high-calorie food had their antennae shrink, while rats that ate a low calorie diet regained their antennae length.
This research shows that ``middle-aged weight gain'' is caused by aging and overeating, which causes the antennae of nerve cells in the brain to shrink, making it difficult to issue commands to stimulate metabolism. It is hoped that this will lead to the development of treatments for obesity.
Professor Nakamura said, ``It is often said that you are 80% hungry, but I think that by not consuming too many calories, you can stimulate your metabolism and help maintain weight loss.''