Adipose Memory

Fascinating study showing that fat cells have a memory of... obesity and continue to behave (i.e., gene expression) just like they did during a period of abundance (i.e., obesity) and don't revert back after weight loss. The genes expressed during obesity promote inflammation and fibrosis as well as sugar and fat absoprtion. That could explain a lot of things about diets and weight loss and why it can be so hard to maintain weight after loss. The best way to be trim is to never gain too much weight in the first place.

If that discovery is confirmed, it would also open up new avenues to sustained weight loss by targeting the seemingly irreversible epigenetic changes that take place during obesity. A great summary can be found at link As the lead author from ETH Zürich states, "It’s not yet a causal link. It’s correlation". But it is an exciting one!