Selbst nach einem drastischen Gewichtsverlust tragen die Fettzellen des Körpers eine „Erinnerung“ an Fettleibigkeit, was erklären könnte, warum es schwierig sein kann, nach einem Abnehmprogramm fit zu bleiben, findet eine Analyse des Fettgewebes von Menschen mit schwerer Fettleibigkeit und einer Kontrollgruppe. Selbst eine Operation zur Gewichtsreduktion änderte dieses Muster zwei Jahre später nicht.

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08165-7

From the linked article:

Even after drastic weight loss, the body’s fat cells carry the ‘memory’ of obesity, research1 shows — a finding that might help to explain why it can be hard to stay trim after a weight-loss programme.

This memory arises because the experience of obesity leads to changes in the epigenome — a set of chemical tags that can be added to or removed from cells’ DNA and proteins that help to dial gene activity up or down. For fat cells, the shift in gene activity seems to render them incapable of their normal function. This impairment, as well as the changes in gene activity, can linger long after weight has dropped to healthy levels, a study published today in Nature reports.

To understand why weight can pile back on so quickly after it is lost, Hinte and her colleagues analysed fat tissue from a group of people with severe obesity, as well as from a control group of people who had never had obesity. They found that some genes were more active in the obesity group’s fat cells than in the control group’s fat cells, whereas other genes were less active.

‘Epigenetic’ editing cuts cholesterol in mice
Even weight-loss surgery did not budge that pattern. Two years after the participants with obesity had had weight-reduction operations, they had lost large amounts of weight — but their fat cells’ genetic activity still displayed the obesity-linked pattern. The scientists found similar results in mice that had lost large amounts of weight.

Every time I’ve lost significant amounts of weight ( > 20 pounds), I get hit with extreme hunger some time later, so bad I can’t sleep properly, that doesn’t abate until I put the weight back on. This happened to all the participants in the Minnesota Starvation experiment. I’ve given up on trying to be lean and am just aiming to stay weight-stable.

I have a friend who is a doctor and she said something similar. She said that basically, your body remembers the worse condition it has been in and is always capable of reaching that condition again. This is why I freaked out when I was diagnosed with borderline high cholesterol because it is very much possible that I will not be able to control it once my cholesterol reaches “high” level.

Assuming we know how this memory is stored, isn’t it possible to “reset” it?

I mean, with epigenetic means, other resets are possible, too?

So liposuction would help?

I think calorie deficit is hard to beat for weight loss. It doesn’t happen as fast but for me it is a lot easier to stick to. Drinking lots of water helps with hunger. I’ve had success with intermittent fasting and calorie restrictions. I think either can work for most people.

Doesn’t this support the idea that everyone has a genetic “set range” for muscle/fat?
Some also say that repeated yo-yo attempts to stay under this range can actually move the range up.
(And obviously age affects this range too)

I never can keep weight off. About every 2 to 5 years I go on a starvation diet and lose 30 to 60 pounds and I always gain it all back. I’m so tired. Last year I lost nearly 70 pounds, I’ve gain 25 of it back in less than two months.