The challenges after weight loss confuses many people’s efforts to improve their health. While reducing extra pounds may have obvious benefits, many people find themselves gaining weight despite maintaining healthier habits. A new study led by Professor Ferdinand von Meyenn of Eth Eth in Zurich provides an explanation: Adipocytes seem to remember obesity, making it more difficult to maintain weight for a long time.
Professor Von Meyenn’s team examined a large number of fat tissues in humans and mice before and after weight loss, and energy-storing cells in the body. They found that even if people and animals lose weight, their fat cells retain certain biological changes associated with obesity. In mice, these changes also affect the function of adipocytes and their role on food, thereby changing their ability to effectively store and burn energy. “Our findings suggest that fat cells remember obesity, which makes it easier to recover weight after dieting,” explains Professor Von Meyenn.
The study showed that mice with a history of obesity lost weight faster when they regained their weight compared to mice that had never been obese. Their fat cells undergo lasting changes that affect genes, instructions that indicate what cells are going to do, turn on and off, which makes it harder for them to regulate metabolism, the process in which the body usually converts food into energy. This suggests that adipose tissue not only shrinks when losing weight. It remains biologically altered in ways that affect future weight gain.
One of the biggest gains from this study is that how weight can be restored may be related to changes in the role of fat cells, not just lifestyle habits. Unlike permanent genetic mutations, i.e. changes in the DNA sequence itself, these changes (epigenetic modifications), chemical markers that control gene activity without altering DNA still affect the performance of the cell. “These changes seem to make fat cells respond more strongly to unhealthy foods, which may explain the common yo-yo effect of weight loss after dieting,” said Professor Von Meyenn. This suggests that past obesity has left a long mark and therefore it is difficult to maintain weight loss.
Although most weight loss strategies focus on diet and exercise, this study suggests that deeper biological factors may be at work. If scientists can find a way to reset this adipocyte memory by modifying epigenetic markers, a better treatment could be provided for maintaining weight loss. Future therapies may aim to reverse these changes, helping people lose weight more effectively and reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
This study not only improves our understanding of obesity, but also highlights new approaches to support long-term weight management. By recognizing that adipocytes have biological memory, researchers may be able to develop treatments that keep people healthy for a long time.
Journal Reference
Hinte, LC, Castellano-Castillo, D., Ghosh, A. wait. “Adipose tissue retains epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss.” Nature, 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08165-7
About the Author
Professor Ferdinand von Meyen is a leading expert in epigenetics and metabolic research, focusing on how environmental factors shape genetic activity and affect health. He is a professor at Eth Zurich, and his work explores the long-term molecular effects of diet, obesity and aging on the body. His research has been discovering how adipocytes retain obesity’s biological memory, which contributes to the challenges of long-term weight loss.
Professor Von Meyenn has a strong background in molecular biology and genetics and has published widely in high-influence scientific journals. His lab uses advanced technologies such as single-cell sequencing and epigenomic analysis to study how cells regulate metabolism over time. He is passionate about translation science and aims to develop strategies that may lead to new treatments that may lead to obesity-related diseases. Through his work, he continues to shape the future of metabolic and genetic research.
