A new study has found that fat cells have memory which significantly contributes to obesity. The study was published in the journal Nature and conducted by researchers at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The researchers found that obesity leads to characteristic epigenetic changes in the nucleus of fat cells and this remains the same even after a diet. This can explain why an individual regains the lost weight merely in a matter of weeks after weight loss.

The team of researchers were led by Ferdinand von Meyenn, Professor of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics at the varsity. They found that “fat cells remember the overweight state and can return to this state more easily.”

For the study, the team first analysed fat cells from overweight mice and those that had shed their excess weight through dieting. Their findings revealed that mice with these epigenetic markers regained weight more quickly when they again had access to a high-fat diet.

According to a report in The Guardian, researchers identified the biological memory after examining fat tissue from people with obesity before and after they lost weight after bariatric surgery. The tissues were further compared with fat from healthy individuals who had never been obese.

The analysis showed that fat cells were affected by obesity in a way that altered how they responded to food, potentially for years. In tests, the cells grew faster than others by absorbing nutrients more swiftly.

Epigenetic markers play a key role in determining which genes are active in our cells and which are not. The study found that the mechanism works in similar ways in humans.

Ferdinand von Meyenn said, “Our study indicates that one reason maintaining body weight after initial weight loss is difficult is that the fat cells remember their prior obese state and likely aim to return to this state.

“The memory seems to prepare cells to respond quicker, and maybe also in unhealthy ways, to sugars or fatty acids.”

Von Meyenn noted that the simplest way to combat the phenomenon, “is to avoid being overweight”, especially for children, youth, and adults. The researchers for the first time showed that “fat cells possess an epigenetic memory of obesity”. However, fat cells may not be alone with this ability, the team said.

The researchers noted that the findings implied that the cells in the brain, blood vessels or other organs may also have the ability to remember obesity and contribute to the effect, an area that can be explored next.

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