Today, putting on a few extra pounds of fat is something that most people try (often unsuccessfully) to avoid. In fact, the majority of people in the Western world would love to lose some weight, and in many cases, a significant amount of weight. The problem, however, is that it is difficult. There has been endless research done on the subject and the bottom line is that losing weight and keeping it off is difficult.

There are many scientific reasons for this, but the bottom line is that it is difficult because storing fat is how we (and most other mammals) are able to survive. Well, that was the case over the course of thousands of years. If our ancestors couldn’t store fat, they would have died off in huge numbers each winter when food became scarce.

So, carrying fat used to be life saving, but very few of us are at risk of starving to death today. Most of us wish we could just tell our bodies that there is plenty of food today, and there will be tomorrow too, so don’t worry about storing the excess calories as fat for future use.

Well, according to a study published in EMBO Journal, that might actually be possible.

The study was based on research done at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. This research discovered, very much by accident, a protein that is part of mitochondria that actually regulates how fat is stored in the body. This was done on mice, and the protein is called MTCH2, but it is often just referred to as the Mitch protein.

So, what does that protein do? Atan Gross is the head of the Institute’s Gross Lab where the research took place. In a statement, he explained:

“We discovered that deleting Mitch led to a major drop in fats in membranes. At the same time, we saw an increase in fatty substances used to produce energy, and we realized that the fat was being broken down from the membrane to be used as fuel.”

To put it simply, when this protein was deactivated or removed, the mice lost weight. Not only that, they actually grew more fibers and had increased stamina. These mice even had improved heart function. The researchers then restricted the exercise that the mice performed and fed them foods that should have caused them to get fat, but it didn’t. They seemed almost immune to obesity.

Sabita Chourasia is a doctoral student in Gross’s lab and led the research for the new study. They explained:

“After deleting Mitch, we examined, every few hours, the effect that had on more than 100 substances taking part in metabolism in human cells. We saw an increase in cellular respiration, the process in which the cell produces energy from nutrients, such as carbohydrates and fats, using oxygen. This explains the increase in muscular endurance in previous experiments using mice.”

Looking at how human cells would react to having the Mitch protein ‘turned off’ is a first step in potentially being able to use this process for people who want to lose weight. Unfortunately, some research in 2017 found that deleting this protein has some very bad side effects including decreased learning ability, loss of spatial memory, and severe Alzheimer’s disease.

All hope is not lost, but these unwanted side effects certainly show that people won’t be getting gene therapy for weight loss anytime soon. More research may find a way to get the weight loss benefits of disabling the Mitch protein without the dangerous side effects.

For now, however, people who want to lose weight will have to do it the old fashioned way, diet and exercise (maybe with a little Ozempic to help along the way).

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