Scientists have examined how weight loss changes human fat cells. They wanted to understand why weight loss aids health at a molecular level. The research could lead to new treatments for blood sugar concerns.

They found a wide range of positive impacts. Weight loss clears out damaged and aging cells and increases the metabolism of harmful fats. The study used fat tissue samples from people with a healthy body weight and people with obesity who underwent bariatric weight loss surgery. The Weight loss group had samples taken both during surgery and five months after the surgery, when they had lost an average of 50 pounds.

From analyzing the gene expression of the fat cells, the researchers learned that losing weight causes the breakdown of lipids. That burns energy and may reduce the buildup of lipids in the liver and pancreas. That may be why losing weight can help people reduce their blood sugar concerns. It also removed old, damaged cells that accumulate in tissues that can lead to scarring and inflammation.

On the flip side, they found that weight loss didn’t improve how obesity harms the immune system. The inflammatory cells did not recover after weight loss, keeping a memory of the old weight. Those cells “drive obesity” and can lead to weight regain later on.

Dr. William Scott, from Imperial College London, who led the study, said, “Fat tissues have many underappreciated health impacts, including on blood sugar levels, body temperature, hormones that control appetite, and even reproductive health. We hope that new information from studies like ours will start to pave the way for developing better treatments for [blood sugar concerns] and other health problems caused by excess body fat.”

Dr. Scott also said, “What we’re excited by is being able to really understand the ‘yins and yangs’ of weight loss. We may, in the future, be able to develop drugs that target the good bits, but also block the harmful bits that get hardwired by obesity.”

It has to be kept in mind that the participants in the study had surgery. The surgery itself may have caused some cellular changes in addition to the weight loss, as surgery is a significant medical event that the body reacts to.

As cells keep a memory of obesity, the researchers say it is better to maintain a healthy weight throughout life rather than relying on weight loss. However, that isn’t helpful advice for folks who may need to lose weight. Knowing that losing weight may make positive changes in the body at a cellular level is a wonderful thing, and we can all work toward making healthy changes in our lives.

Banner image: Imperial College London