Enzyme is culprit for beer bellies, scientists say.(Brief Article)

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, have identified a specific enzyme in fat cells that causes them to cluster around the abdomen. If drug companies can create medications to turn off this enzyme, the researchers say, it might help men lose abdominal fat.

Reducing the paunch has impact beyond male vanity, the researchers said. The kind of fat that sticks around the abdomen, creating a beer belly, is the kind most associated with a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and certain forms of cancer, researchers say.