Gene That Regulates Circadian Rhythms Linked To Weight Problems

Circadian Rhythms is  Linked To Weight Problems

Researchers have uncovered the link between body weight and a balanced sleep. It seems that everyone’s metabolism and weight fluctuations are influenced by a gene that regulates internal body clocks, called “Rev-Erb alpha”. It seems that this gene is responsible not only for weight but also the problems that extra pounds can have on ones health. The study was published online in The FASEB Journal.

Rev-Erb alpha gene is a component that adjusts circadian rhythms and plays an important role in determining the metabolic rate. There have been studies that suggested that overexpression of Rev Erb alpha stimulates adipogenesis (creation of fat stores in the body). Metabolism of each person depends on various factors. In principle there genetic and environmental factors are involved. It is a well known fact that the body metabolism influences energy needs. For example, a person with a slow metabolism tends to gain weight. Of course, this weight gain depends not only metabolism, but also on the quantity and quality of food.

Circadian Rhythms

Weight gain occurs when there is an excess of calories (a person consumes more calories than burn). Of course,  lifestyle has direct consequences on the body mass index. It is important to remember that a healthy lifestyle involves not only a healthy diet based on vegetables and fruits, but also includes daily physical activity and restful sleep.

Researchers found that gene “Rev-Erb alpha” is the cause of obesity and hyperglycemia even under a normal diet. Experiments on mice have shown that subjects lacking Rev-Erb alpha gene became obese and hyperglycaemic even if the amount of food consumed was the same compared with a normal group of mice. In addition, scientists have found what differed in two groups of mice. Mice that had a deficit of Rev-Erb alpha genes created more fat than normal mice. Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, remarks  that the  finding shows the importance and the influence ‘body clock’ has on body weight.

Etienne Challet, Ph.D., a researcher Involved in the work from the Department of Neurobiology of Rhythms at the Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences at the University of Strasbourg in Pascal, France, noted that irregular lifestyle,  shift work, exposure to artificial light at night and normal day-night rhythm disturbances may have consequences on metabolism. In other words, a person can find it very hard to lose weight even if  on a normal diet. On the other hand, disorganized lifestyle can lead to less healthy behaviors like eating during the night.