About 40% of American adults are obese, and for many of them, it can feel like a rollercoaster as their weight fluctuates up and down.
The cycle of recurring weight loss and regain, known as Yo-yo effectThis may be due to a type of 'metabolic memory', where the body remembers and strives to return to its previous state of obesity, according to a new study.
“Obesity is a chronic condition with significant metabolic consequences, and is strongly associated with various metabolic processes Cardiovascular diseasesStudy author Dr. Ferdinand von Meyen, assistant professor of nutrition and metabolic genetics at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, told Fox News Digital.
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“There is a well-documented observation that the body tends to defend against excess body weight, which makes losing weight and keeping it off very difficult.”
A new study has found that the cycle of repeatedly losing and regaining weight, known as the yo-yo effect, could be due to a type of “metabolic memory.” (Istock)
Obesity is a common chronic disease in the United States, with one in five children and two in five adults meeting the criteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The new research, published in November in the journal Nature, points to epigenetics (gene activity) that may play a role in weight regain. After losing weight.
What is epigenetics?
“Epigenetics, which involves chemical marks that influence gene activity without changing the DNA sequence, is critical to how cells function and respond to environmental factors,” Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, Ph.D. Obesity treatment doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, He told Fox News Digital.
“These markers can be changed by lifestyle factors, such as diet, and can remain stable for years, effectively creating a cellular ‘memory’ of past conditions.” such as obesity,added Stanford, who was not part of the study.
It is known that cells retain their genetic identity as they divide. Von Meyen said the researchers were interested in what happens to fat cells, which live on average for 10 years before the body replaces them.
The researchers studied what happens to fat cells, which live on average for 10 years before the body replaces them. (Istock)
He added that this is different from other cells in tissues, which divide much faster. Intestinal cells, for example, generally divide every two weeks.
Von Meyne noted that fat cells still need to adapt to external stimuli and undergo genetic adaptations.
The researchers set out to determine whether these changes could be reversed.
Fighting “memory” in fat cells
In studies on mice, researchers found that even after significant weight loss, their cells had a “memory” of obesity encoded in the genome, which controls gene activity, von Meyne noted.
“Our study suggests that one reason it is difficult to maintain body weight after initial weight loss is that fat cells remember their previous state of obesity and are more likely to aim to return to this state,” he told Fox News Digital.
“The body tends to defend against excess body weight, which makes losing weight and keeping it off very difficult.”
“This means that one has to fight this obesogenic memory to maintain body weight.”
Based on this research, failure to maintain weight loss after dieting is not necessarily due to a lack of effort or willpower, but can also be driven by underlying factors. Biological phenomenonadded von Mayen.
Potential limitations
The research has only looked at adipose tissue, and the genetic mechanisms have only been studied in mice. However, the researchers said they believe similar mechanisms also apply to humans.
However, other experts cautioned that the study only shows an association and does not prove that epigenetic changes cause the yo-yo effect.
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“The authors noted that they cannot say with certainty that epigenetic modifications directly cause people to regain lost weight, nor pinpoint which specific ones.” Epigenetic markers “This may be what drives this effect,” Petronella Ravensher, a board-certified nutritionist and author of “The Humanbeing Diet,” told Fox News Digital.
Florida-based Ravenshire, who was not part of the study, noted that the results shouldn't lead people to say, “It's not my fault, it's my genes!”
Plan future research
“We will now need to expand to see how memory can be erased and whether other cells or tissues are also affected (such as) the brain or liver,” von Meyne said.
It's possible that if people maintain a healthy weight for a year or more after dieting, that may be enough time to erase the memory in fat cells, according to Ravensher.
The term 'diet' in its original connotation meant 'lifestyle' – but it has now become synonymous with short-term, unsustainable dietary changes, an expert has said. (Istock)
“This finding underscores the importance of obesity prevention, especially in… Children and adolescents“To avoid creating this epigenetic memory that complicates long-term weight management,” Stanford noted.
“A greater understanding of these mechanisms could lead to more effective treatments and prevention strategies, underscoring the need for a proactive approach to weight management from an early age,” she added.
“way of living”
In its original connotation, the term “diet” meant “lifestyle” — but it has now become synonymous with short-term, unsustainable dietary changes, Ravenshire noted.
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People often regain the weight they lose when they return to the eating habits that led to the weight gain in the first place, many experts agree.
“The slogan is that diets fail,” Ravensher cited Professor David Benton of Swansea University in the UK, author of Tackling the Obesity Crisis, who recently shared in an interview with The Guardian.
One expert recommends focusing on kicking your addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates and adopting a new way of eating. (Istock)
“They fail because to avoid regaining lost weight, you have to do it permanently Change your diet“.
He pointed out that after completing the diet, many people return to the previous lifestyle that caused the problem in the first place.
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“Frequent snacking, eating foods that are high in calories and poor in nutrients, disrupts blood sugar, raises insulin levels and increases inflammation — and the inflammation itself makes it harder to lose weight,” Ravensher told Fox News Digital.
“Eating foods that are high in calories and poor in nutrients disrupts blood sugar, raises insulin levels and increases inflammation – and the inflammation itself makes it difficult to lose weight,” one expert warned. (Istock)
She recommends focusing on breaking your addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates and adopting a new way of eating.
The expert suggests choosing Nutrient-dense whole foodsEat three meals a day, and fast with water for five hours between meals.
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She noted that weight loss occurs as a side effect of balanced hormones and decreased inflammation.
“When we get calories, but not the nutrients our body and mind need, we always feel hungry because our brain prompts us to keep searching for food,” Ravenshire added.
