Stubborn Fat: New Research Reveals Why Weight Loss Can Be So Hard
Losing weight is a challenge for many, and even more frustratingly, keeping it off seems almost impossible for some. New research published in the prestigious journal Nature suggests this struggle might be rooted in permanent changes to our fat cells’ very DNA.
"It can’t be that we all simply lack the willpower to maintain our new weight,” says Laura Catherine Hinte, a biomedicine expert at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, who led the study.
The research focused on obese patients who underwent gastric reduction surgery. Scientists collected fat tissue samples from these individuals both before and two years after their procedure, during which they lost an average of 75% of their initial weight. Additionally, they collected fat tissue samples from individuals with healthy weights for comparison.
Analyzing the RNA molecules present in these fat cells revealed a surprising discovery: over 100 different types of RNA molecules were expressed at different levels in the obese patients, compared to those with a healthy weight. Significantly, these differences were still present two years after the obese patients had lost a substantial amount of weight.
These RNA changes appear to promote inflammation within fat cells and disrupt their ability to store and burn fat effectively. Both of these factors contribute to a higher risk of regaining weight, according to Ferdinand von Meyenn, also from ETH Zurich and another researcher involved in the study.
To validate their findings further, the team conducted experiments with mice. They observed the same RNA changes in obese mice that had shed weight, and when fed a high-fat diet, these formerly obese mice gained significantly more weight than their healthy weight counterparts.
Diving deeper into the molecular mechanisms behind these changes, researchers found that epigenetic marks – essentially molecular "flags" attached to the DNA – drive these obesity-related RNA variations. These epigenetic marks influence the amount of different RNA molecules produced, potentially altering fat cell function.
While further research is needed to confirm whether these findings translate directly to humans, the study offers compelling evidence that biological changes within fat cells, driven by epigenetic modifications, may be a significant contributor to the difficulty many people experience in maintaining weight loss long-term.
Henriette Kirchner, an epigeneticist at the University of Lübeck in Germany, believes that
"medicines that target epigenetics may play a role in treating obesity in the coming decades."
This breakthrough research sheds light on the complex biological factors at play in weight regulation, potentially paving the way for new and more effective strategies to combat obesity.
2024-12-02 12:44:00
#fat #cells #gain #weight #quickly #losing #weight
