Fat-Storage Gene Is More Active in Obese Women, Study Says

A gene that causes muscles to store excess fat is three times more active in the stomach tissue of severely obese women than in the tissue of lean women, new research shows.

Obesity in non-diabetic women was linked to higher levels of the SCD1 gene, an enzyme that speeds up the accumulation of fatty acids and causes muscles to burn less fat, according to a study published in tomorrow's Cell Metabolism journal.

Muscle cells from obese tissue continued to amass extra fat when researchers isolated the cells in a laboratory, suggesting that these muscles are ``inherently programmed'' to accumulate fat.

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