Biosocial Methods Collaborative

New Models. New Perspectives. New Discoveries.

  • About
    • Core Faculty and Staff
    • Contact
  • Membership
  • Resources
  • Lab
  • Events
  • Active Projects
  • Emerging Impact
  • News

In the News: Alan Saltiel

March 14, 2018 – Enzyme plays a key role in calories burned both during obesity and dieting

Ever wonder why obese bodies burn less calories or why dieting often leads to a plateau in weight loss? In both cases the body is trying to defend its weight by regulating energy expenditure. Until now, how this happens has been a mystery.

“Human bodies are very efficient at storing energy by repressing energy expenditure to conserve it for later when you need it,” said Alan Saltiel, PhD, director of the UC San Diego Institute for Diabetes and Metabolic Health. “This is nature’s way of ensuring that you survive if a famine comes.”

In a paper publishing in Cell on February 8, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers identify the enzyme TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) as a key player in the control of energy expenditure — or calories burned — during both obesity and fasting.

“There are two important observations that we have linked to slowing metabolism in obesity and fasting,” said Saltiel. “We’ve discovered two new feedback loops that are intertwined to self-regulate the system. Think of it like your home thermostat, which senses change in temperature to turn heat off and on.”

To read more of this article, originally published in Science Daily, click on the title link.

News

In the News: George Michailidis

In the News: Jan Van den Bulck

In the News: Stephanie Cook

In the News: Hallie Prescott and Theodore Iwashyna

In the News: Julie Lumeng

Home Sweet HomeLab: Studying Daily Life in Context

2018 MCUAAAR Summer Workshops Announced

Member in the News: Fabian Pfeffer

In the News: Ashley Gearhardt

In the News: Michael Zochowski

Archive

Bio-Social Methods Collaborative

Research Center for Group Dynamics

Institute for Social Research

© 2013 The Regents of the University of Michigan

426 Thompson Street
P.O. Box 1248
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
isr-biosocial@umich.edu

University of Michigan Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan Medical School
University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute