The problem of conserving weight off after dropping it has puzzled many individuals working to enhance their well being. Whereas shedding additional kilos can have clear advantages, many discover themselves gaining the load again regardless of sustaining more healthy habits. A brand new research, led by Professor Ferdinand von Meyenn from ETH Zurich and revealed in Nature, presents a proof: fats cells appear to recollect weight problems, making it tougher to maintain the load off long-term.
Professor von Meyenn’s crew examined fats tissue, the physique’s energy-storing cells, from each people and mice earlier than and after vital weight reduction. They found that even after folks and animals misplaced weight, their fats cells retained sure organic adjustments linked to weight problems. In mice, these adjustments additionally affected how fats cells functioned and responded to meals, altering their skill to retailer and burn vitality effectively. “Our findings point out that fats cells maintain onto a reminiscence of weight problems, which makes it simpler to regain weight after weight-reduction plan,” defined Professor von Meyenn.
The research confirmed that mice with a historical past of weight problems placed on weight sooner once they returned to a high-fat weight loss program, in contrast to people who had by no means been overweight. Their fats cells had lasting adjustments that affected how genes, the directions that inform cells what to do, had been turned on and off, making it tougher for them to control metabolism, the physique’s strategy of changing meals into vitality, usually. This implies that fats tissue doesn’t simply shrink when weight is misplaced; it stays biologically altered in a method that influences future weight achieve.
One of many greatest takeaways from this analysis is how weight regain could also be linked to adjustments in the way in which fats cells perform, relatively than simply way of life habits. In contrast to everlasting genetic mutations, that are adjustments within the DNA sequence itself, these adjustments—referred to as epigenetic modifications, chemical markers that management gene exercise with out altering DNA—can nonetheless affect how cells behave. “These adjustments appear to arrange fats cells to reply extra strongly to unhealthy meals, which can clarify the widespread ‘yo-yo’ impact, the place misplaced weight is regained after weight-reduction plan,” mentioned Professor von Meyenn. This implies that previous weight problems leaves a long-term imprint, making it tougher to take care of weight reduction.
Whereas most weight reduction methods deal with weight loss program and train, this analysis suggests {that a} deeper, organic issue could also be at play. If scientists can discover a approach to reset this fats cell reminiscence by modifying epigenetic markers, it may result in higher remedies for sustaining weight reduction. Future therapies might intention to reverse these adjustments, serving to folks hold the load off extra successfully and lowering the chance of obesity-related illnesses equivalent to diabetes and coronary heart illness.
This research not solely improves our understanding of weight problems but in addition highlights the necessity for brand new methods to assist long-term weight administration. By recognizing that fats cells have a organic reminiscence, researchers could possibly develop remedies that make it simpler for folks to take care of a wholesome weight in the long term.
Journal Reference
Hinte, L.C., Castellano-Castillo, D., Ghosh, A., et al. “Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic reminiscence of weight problems after weight reduction.” Nature, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08165-7
Concerning the Writer
Professor Ferdinand von Meyenn is a number one professional in epigenetics and metabolic analysis, with a deal with how environmental components form gene exercise and affect well being. He’s a professor at ETH Zurich, the place his work explores the long-term molecular results of weight loss program, weight problems, and getting old on the physique. His analysis has been instrumental in uncovering how fats cells retain a organic reminiscence of weight problems, contributing to challenges in long-term weight reduction.
With a powerful background in molecular biology and genetics, Professor von Meyenn has revealed extensively in high-impact scientific journals. His laboratory makes use of superior strategies equivalent to single-cell sequencing and epigenomic profiling to analyze how cells regulate metabolism over time. Captivated with translational science, he goals to develop methods that would result in new remedies for obesity-related illnesses. By his work, he continues to form the way forward for metabolic and genetic analysis.
