With one-third of American adults estimated to be obese, dieting has become a national obsession. Although weight is partially determined by genetics, habits formed in childhood may hold the key to future health.
New research is shattering the popular notion that to lose weight you must lose fat cells. Ten percent of your fat cells die every year, but your body replaces them at an equal rate. Weight fluctuation in adults is instead a product of the amount of fat in each cell.
The study also confirmed that obese people have a higher number of fat cells that contain more fat and that the life cycle of these cells is twice as fast as those found in lean adults. The research “explains why it’s so difficult to lose weight and keep it off,” Dr. Kirsty Spalding, first author of the paper, told the BBC.
“Those fat cells aren’t going anywhere, and they’re crying out for more.”
Obesity causes a variety of cardiovascular and metabolic health issues and costs the U.S. millions of dollars per year in health care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made obesity one of its top public-health priorities, and it’s targeting its campaign at schools.
That’s because child obesity predicts adult obesity. The research explains why: fat cell production rises steadily as the body develops and then stabilizes. That means the number of fat cells you accumulate through adolescence will remain with you the rest of your life. As Gina Kolata reports on NYTimes.com, “One of the hard lessons of the past couple of decades has been that the body has redundant controls to maintain weight.”
It’s not impossible for people who suffer from obesity to lose weight; it’s just harder. Therefore, it’s imperative that healthy living practices, including a balanced diet and regular exercise, begin in childhood.
Learn more about nutrition and physical fitness on the National Institutes of Health website.
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