Aftermath of ‘yo-yo’ dieting to end soon

Scientists have discovered a molecular switch in the brain that regulates fat burning — and could provide a way to control weight gain following dieting. Being able to control this switch may be a therapy for obesity and other metabolic disorders such as Type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Monash University in Australia identified the switch that potentially controls the human body’s capacity to store fat, particularly after long periods of “famine” or weight loss — a process that underlies yo-yo dieting, where we regain the weight lost caused by dieting.

Associate Professor Zane Andrews and his colleagues at the Monash have identified a protein in mice, called carnitine ace ty lt ran sf erase( Cr at ), in hunger-processing brain cells that regulate fat storage after dieting.

When we are dieting (or evolutionary when there is a famine) our bodies burn more fat to provide enough energy. However, at the same time our brains fight to conserve energy and, as soon as food becomes available, the body switches from burning to storing fat and instead uses ingested calories from food.

The team discovered the Crat protein and developed a mouse that had this protein genetically switched off. These mice, when fasted or fed after a fast, consume their fat reserves at a greater than normal rate. According to Andrews, repeated dieting, or yo-yo dieting, may lead to weight gain because the brain interprets these diets as short famines and urges the person to store more fat for future shortages.

Researchers identified the switch that potentially controls the human body’s capacity to store fat, particularly after long periods of “famine” or weight loss — a process that underlies yo-yo dieting, where we regain the weight lost caused by dieting.