A team of researchers claims that they have found variation in a gene for brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF), which could have an impact on obesity among adults and children.

The study researchers suggest that boosting the protein levels can offer a therapeutic strategy for people with the genetic variation and could also help people deal with obesity.

The team of the study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that this issue is found to be very common among African Americans and Hispanics due to this specific gene variation as compared to Caucasians.

Childhood obesity has found to be more alarming and it has been found that it gets very difficult for obese and overweight children to lose weight at a later stage.

In some past years obesity has emerged as a major health threat across the world. It has been found that people living in developed countries are facing tough time in losing weight due to their sedentary lifestyle.

Researchers found that people have high calories intake in their diet. Their higher dependence on fast food and packed food is worsening the condition even more. Obesity has also become a major topic of many research projects and studies as it is also linked to heart disease, diabetes and many other chronic diseases, they said.

Jack A. Yanovski, one of the study authors, said through their study they have explained how a single genetic change in BDNF influences obesity and might also affect BDNF protein levels.

Jack said, “The BDNF gene has previously been linked to obesity, and scientists have been working for several years to understand how changes in this particular gene may predispose people to obesity”.