According to a new study in mice, overeating and obesity is triggered by a lack of gene: a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is critical in mediating satiety in adult mice.

[Mice in which the BDNF gene was deleted in two of the primary appetite-regulating regions of the brain ate more and became significantly heavier than their counterparts.]

The said mice study was conducted in the laboratory of Maribel Rios, PhD, at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

According to Dr. Rios:

"Prior to this study, we knew that the global lack of BDNF and/or its receptor during development leads to overeating and obesity in young mice. However, it remained unclear and controversial whether BDNF mediated satiety in adult animals. Our recent findings demonstrate that BDNF synthesis in the ventromedial (VMH) and dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) is required for normal energy balance.

Additionally, because the mice examined in this study were genetically altered in adulthood, we were able to establish that BDNF acts as a satiety signal in the mature brain independently from its putative actions during development of the brain. This important distinction might help define disease mechanisms and critical periods of intervention for the treatment and prevention of obesity disorders."

Remember that the above findings were in mice. However, there is a possibility that in the future, the results will translate into humans.

Find more details from Science Daily.

Kinda timely for all that overeating we did recently during the holiday season!