Take care of your weight from a young age!
Scientists at the Stockholm Karolinska Institute, working under the guidance of Dr. Kirsty Spalding, have found that weight gain in children and adults occurs through fundamentally different mechanisms.
The increase and decrease in body weight of adults occurs due to changes in the size of fat cells (adipocytes), while children gain kilograms due to an increase in the number of these cells in the body. This means that it is much more difficult for adults who have been overweight since childhood to lose weight than for those who gained it at later stages of life.
The authors analyzed adipose tissue samples obtained from biopsies of 687 people with different body weights. They recorded the number and size of fat cells, as well as the parameters of the subjects: age, gender and body mass index. Based on a comparison of the results with earlier data obtained by analyzing the adipose tissue of children, they came to the conclusion that the number of fat cells increases to about 20 years, after which it remains relatively constant regardless of changes in body weight.
The authors also examined 20 obese people who underwent gastric reduction surgery in order to reduce the amount of food consumed. Repeated examination 2 years after the operation showed that the number of fat cells in the body of each of them did not decrease and, according to estimates, still exceeded 80 billion. The observed weight loss of about 18% was due to a decrease in the volume of adipocytes.
At the same time, the authors found that even in an adult body, fat cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones. They came to this conclusion based on the results of the analysis of adipose tissue removed during liposuction in 35 people who lived during the Cold War (1955-1963), when, due to frequent nuclear weapons tests, the level of radioactivity in the atmosphere was higher than normal. Foods grown and eaten during this period contained elevated levels of the radioactive carbon isotope C14.
It turned out that the content of cells loaded with radioactive carbon in the organisms of these people is much lower than expected in accordance with the statement that fat cells persist throughout life. This proves that fat cells are constantly being updated.
If specialists manage to decipher the mechanisms regulating the renewal of adipocytes, this will make it possible to create drugs to maintain a constant weight by correcting this process. The authors believe that such therapy is most acceptable for patients who have undergone weight loss treatment, for example, gastric surgery. According to Spalding, taking such drugs can be dangerous for people with obesity, because reducing the number of fat cells without reducing the total volume of fat will increase the load on the remaining adipocytes, which can lead to the development of metabolic disorders, primarily diabetes.
However, the creation of such drugs is still very far away, and today scientists recommend that parents pay attention to the nutrition and physical activity of children and, if possible, avoid the appearance of extra pounds at an early age.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily
06.05.2008