Researchers from Penn State University have unearthed clues,from studies on dragonflies, that may help in understanding obesity in humans.

The study has revealed that when dragonflies are infected with certain parasites they suffer from metabolic disorders. These disorders are very similar to the Type -2 diabetes seen in humans. Obesity is frequently seen associated with diabetes. Therefore these studies may hold the key to understanding the underlying causes for obesity, in metabolic disorders.

James Marden, one of the researchers pointed out that metabolic diseases are common among animals as well. Surprisingly the dragonflies also seem to share the same underlying causes that trigger off similar symptoms that are noticed among the humans with metabolic disorders.