Why it's harder to lose weight when you're fat

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Researchers have discovered why it is so difficult to lose weight. The results of their study indicate that the more fat a person has, the greater the resistance the body puts up to losing it.

A group of scientists from the University of every Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Institute and Toho University in Japan published their results in the journal Nature Communications.

According to a EurekAlert press release, the body's fat cells are designed to store energy. Brown adipocytes are a type of fat cells that produce heat to keep the body warm while white adipose cells use the stored fat to produce energy.

However, one type of protein, the sLR11, prevents thermogenesis. It is this protein which makes weight loss more difficult.

Mice that did not produce this protein did not gain as much weight and had a faster metabolism, allowing their bodies to burn calories much quicker. Their white adipose cells were also more active, allowing them to expend more energy.

One of the authors, Dr. Andrew Whittle said, "Our discovery may help explain why overweight individuals find it incredibly hard to lose weight. Their stored fat is actively fighting against their efforts to burn it off at the molecular level."

A report by Laboratory Equipment states that there is greater interest in thermogenesis and producing drugs that can affect this process. Understanding this mechanism will help researchers figure out how to dispose of excess fat in the body.

"We have found an important mechanism that could be targeted not just to help increase people's ability to burn fat, but also help people with conditions where saving energy is important such as anorexia nervosa," chief researcher Professor Toni Vidal-Puig said on their report.

NZ Herald says the results of this study could help companies develop more effective obesity drugs. In the UK, only one prescription drug is specifically designed for losing weight.

The research was funded by the British Heart Foundation. Associate Medical Director is ecstatic about the results but is quick to point out that "an effective medicine to treat obesity, which safely manages weight loss is still some way off."

Until such time, the British Heart Foundation advises other ways of keeping the heart healthy and losing weight safely. The following video, produced by the foundation, features a simple 10-minute workout which can be done in any space inside the house, such as a living room.