Fat tissue discovery may explain why some people easily regain lost weight

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A kind of memory of obesity may be retained by fat tissues even after weight loss, increasing the chance of some people regaining it, a new study suggests. The research, published in the journal Nature, sheds more light on the “yo-yo effect” seen with weight loss strategies in which individuals regain lost weight. In the new study, scientists found that cells from human and mouse fat tissue show gene activity changes that are retained even after significant weight loss. “These changes seem to prime cells for pathological responses in an obesogenic environment, contributing to the problematic ‘yo-yo’ effect often seen with dieting.” They hope future weight-loss methods targeting these changes in fat and potentially other cells can serve as a long-term weight management strategy.