Obesity Caused By Body Chemistry, U.S. Scientists Say

Clemson University researchers are progressing in their understanding of the relationship between naturally occurring enzymes and their role in obesity management and liver disease control, SciTechDaily reported.

Photo Insert: Cyp2b enzymes aid in the metabolization of certain toxins and drugs in order to eliminate them from the body.

Obesity, aging, and body chemistry are all being investigated by scientists. Obesity is defined as a buildup of fat that is abnormal or excessive. This condition has spread throughout the United States.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 42 percent of US adults and 19 percent of US kids were obese between 2017 and 2018. Between 1975 and 2016, the global prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years increased by more than fourfold, from 4% to 18%.

A Clemson University research group is making progress in understanding the relationship between specific enzymes produced naturally in the body and their involvement in obesity management and liver disease control.

Male mice without the Cyp2b enzyme were studied by three Clemson researchers and Emory University School of Medicine colleagues to see how the enzyme's absence affected the mice's metabolism.

The study was driven in part by the fact that male mice without the Cyp2b enzyme were gaining weight, according to William Baldwin, a professor and graduate program coordinator in Clemson's Department of Biological Sciences. The impact was not seen in female Cyp2b-null mice.

The complexities of chemical processes involving the CYP enzyme, which is part of an enzyme superfamily that performs a variety of functions in humans, were noted by Baldwin.

According to him, Cyp2b enzymes aid in the metabolization of certain toxins and drugs in order to eliminate them from the body. “They metabolize bile acids; they metabolize steroid hormones; they metabolize polyunsaturated fats from our diet,” Baldwin added.

The researchers also investigated the link between "perturbed lipid profiles" and disease. Changes in the lipidome have an impact on disease susceptibility and health. High-fat diets, such as the Western diet, promote obesity and alter the hepatic lipidome, and altered lipid profiles are linked to specific liver diseases such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

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