With obesity on the rise in the United States, researchers at U. Nebraska-Lincoln are turning to fatty acids for salvation.
The collaborative researchers, including Concetta DiRusso, Tim Carr, Jens Walter and Dan Peterson, are striving to figure out how to use fatty acids obstructively and develop medications that inhibit bad fatty acids and promote good fatty acids.
“What we’re trying to learn is how does the cell deal with essential fatty acids,” said Paul Black, a professor of biochemistry at UNL.
Certain fatty acids, such as saturated and trans unsaturated acids, are well known for leading to obesity, diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, neurodegenerative disorders and more. However, omega-3 fatty acids are also protective against these very same diseases.
“Our findings are that you have to eat fish oil,” said DiRusso, a professor of nutrition and health sciences/biochemistry at UNL. “Fish oil has a lot of health benefits. For one thing it keeps the fat that your body metabolizes very low.”
In a study funded by National Institutes of Health, US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy these researchers are also hoping to get a better understanding of the regulatory and metabolic consequences of dietary fat through studies on genetically engineered mice in order to determine which genes protect or facilitate disease.
“What we need to focus on in obesity is three things: genetics, behavior and nutrition,” DiRusso said. “You have to learn how to eat and how to feed your families so that you don’t become obese.”
A proper diet and nutrition are becoming increasingly difficult in a nation full of fast food chains. The American diet, according to Black, is densely packed with calories that make unhealthy food taste all the better.
“It feels good to be blissfully unaware, but I think that’s part of the problem when it comes to obesity in this country,” Black said.
People just don’t realize how many unhealthy calories they consume per meal, he said. Another problem is that even with this research, making the public aware of it can be a challenge.
“How do we take what we learn at the basic science arena and translate it to public knowledge and into public policy,” Black said. “I think it can be done, but it’s going to take the coincidence of a lot of people working together.”
While policy might take a while to alter, changing the diet of Americans can help the fight against obesity now.
“You can’t get away from the fact that you’ve got to lower calorie intake,” DiRusso said. “Eat mostly fruits and vegetables, with a variety of colors, fresh, cooked with your own hands, and eaten with someone you love.”