An investigation published in the magazine ‘Nature‘ and carried out in human and mouse cells, could provide keys to understanding the persistent and frustrating ‘yoyo effect‘, where the lost weight returns quickly after abandoning the diet.
The key, according to the study, would be that adipose tissue retains a “memory” of obesity through transcriptional and epigenetic changes in its cells, which increases the probability of regaining the weight lost after a diet.
The team led by Ferdinand von Meyenn, of the Laboratory of Nutrition and Epigenetics of Metablism at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) analyzed the fat cells of 18 people without obesity and 20 people with obesity before and after losing at least 25% of their BMI through bariatric surgery. They also performed similar studies in lean, obese, and previously obese mice that had reduced their weight.
The results showed that, even after significant weight loss, transcriptional and epigenetic changes persisted, associated with metabolic alterations such as fatty acid biosynthesis and the formation of new fat cells. These processes, according to the authors, could contribute to weight rebound.
Researcher José Ordovás, expert in nutrition and genomics at the Tufts University Boston (USA) and member of IMDEA-Food (Madrid) and CIBEROBN points to Science Media Center This high-quality study “reveals how obesity induces long-lasting changes in adipose tissue, even after weight loss, providing new insights into the metabolic memory that predisposes people to regain weight.”
Although solid, Ordovás highlights that study does not prove a direct causal relationship between epigenetic changes and weight reboundand mentions the need for more research, especially in humans, to confirm these findings.
The study’s conclusions have a significant impact.
On the one hand, they reduce the stigma associated with diet failure by showing that rebound has a biological basis.
This breakthrough suggests an innovative path to combat obesity, combining molecular findings with clinical practices to address this growing global health crisis.
On the other hand, they emphasize the importance of long term interventions that address not only habits, but also cellular changes that make it difficult to maintain lost weight.
In the future, therapies could include drugs or even epigenetic editing tools to “reboot» adipose tissue memory and improve the sustainability of weight loss. Additionally, personalization of weight management strategies based on each individual’s genetic and epigenetic profile could make a difference.
Despite the ethical and economic challenges, this advance suggests an innovative path to combat obesity, combining molecular findings with clinical practices to address this growing global health crisis.
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