How are your fat cells “weighing in”?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Why is it so hard to keep weight off? Your body has a “memory” fighting against weight loss. This memory isn’t just psychological—it’s biological. Huh…?
Laura Hinte and team at E-T-H Zurich found that fat cells have a “genetic memory.”
They compared genes from human fat cells and mice that did or did not experience weight loss. The genes were permanently changed in cells that experienced weight loss. This was powerful enough that mice who lost weight gained it back within 2 weeks!
If we unlock how fat cells remember those extra pounds, maybe we can convince them to forget.
Seems like fat cells could use a chance to shed the past!
Reference: Hinte, L.C., Castellano-Castillo, D., Ghosh, A. et al. Adipose tissue retains an epigenetic memory of obesity after weight loss. Nature 636, 457–465 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08165-7