Weight loss breakthrough: Simple as flicking a ‘switch’

Melbourne scientists have made a discovery which could put an end to yo-yo dieting for good – but don’t get too excited, the human research stage is a while away yet.

As reported in the Herald Sun, the secret to permanent weight loss could be as simple as flicking a switch in the brain, with Melbourne scientists discovering a protein that tells the body to either burn the fat, or store it.

Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute Associate Professor Zane Andrews told Ross and John the research allowed scientists to control the body’s ability to store excess fat, albeit in mice.

“When you’re starving the cells in the brain turn on and tell you to eat but also tell you to conserve as much as possible,” Professor Andrews said.

“We also found after we removed the protein and they had the opportunity to eat again, they didn’t eat as much.”

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