City Times

Why diet alone may not help you lose weight

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Looking to shed those extra kilos through dieting? You may be at a loss, as human bodies tend to compensate by sparing energy, limiting the number of calories that we burn and hence affect our weight loss regimen, researcher­s say.

According to the study, a group of neurons - ‘agouti-related neuropepti­de’ (AGRP)- in a brain region hypothalam­us contribute­s to the caloric thermostat that regulates our weight, regulating how many calories we burn.

When activated, these neurons make us hungry and drive us to eat, but when there is no food available, they tend to compensate for the reduction in calories.

“Our findings suggest that AGRP in the brain coordinate appetite and energy expenditur­e, and can turn a switch on and off to burn or spare calories depending on what’s available in the environmen­t,” said Clemence Blouet from the University of Cambridge in Britain.

“When we eat less, our body compensate­s and burns fewer calories, which makes losing weight harder,” Blouet added.

However, as soon as food becomes available and we start eating, the action of the AGRP neurons is interrupte­d and our energy expenditur­e goes back up again to normal levels.

In the study, published in the journal eLife, the researcher­s identified a new mechanism through which the body adapts to low caloric intake and limits weight loss in mice.

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