Shutting down an energy-controlling mechanism in mice left them leaner than normal mice and could be a new way to fight obesity in humans, U.S researchers said in a study.
And the finding is big news in the U.S, where around a third of the adult population is considered obese, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, according to the American Obesity Association.
BMI of a person is calculated by dividing the person's body weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared.
The researchers found that by switching off potassium channels which are sensitive to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) - that scores the energy we need to do just about everything - made mice burn more energy and left them leaner than normal mice.
The effect was evident even when the mice were fed high-fat "Western" diets and was long-lasting, too, with the mice remaining slim throughout their lives, scientists from the Mayo Clinic, University of Iowa, University of Connecticut, and New York University reported in Cell Metabolism.