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Lose weight now might not be as simple for some. The more fat is stored in our body the harder to shed off pounds says a recently published study featuring in the Nature Communications journal.
The more fat is stored in our body the harder to shed off pounds says a recently published study featuring in the Nature Communications journal.
According to researchers working with the Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Institute of Metabolic Sciences from the University of Cambridge, as well as Toho University-Japan, fat cells stored in our bodies in large numbers trigger the production of protein which inhibits the body’s ability to burn fat. Dubbed the sLR11 protein, its production increases the more fat we store.
The process of burning fat is called thermogenesis. When sLR11 protein inhibits fat burning, the body isn’t producing any more energy. The fat cells don’t act as a fuel anymore, but deposit, leading to further weight gain.
According to Doctor Andrew Whittle, one of the authors of the study, this finding could stem further research into why some individuals fighting with overweight or obesity find it so difficult to shed extra pounds.
Fat cells in excess are stumping the efforts to lose weight. And while many may keep trying, it may also become a frustrating process. However, it is important to know that the SLR11 protein acts as the stop sign to thermogenesis. The body isn’t using fat to burn energy and keep warm. In return, weight loss is prevented despite the best of efforts.
To reach the conclusion that the more fat is stored in our body the harder to shed off pounds and underpin the factors influencing the process, researchers conducted an experiment on mice. These did not possess the gene responsible for producing the sLR11 protein and thus are highly resilient to weight gain.
Studying how white fat cells and brown fat cells react to the increased production of the inhibiting protein or in its absence, the research team found that overweight mice had higher levels of sLR11. The elevated levels of the sLR11 and the total fat mass of the body could thus be correlated.
The researchers hope that their study will lay the foundation for further research into increasing people’s ability to burn fat, as well as to retain energy when needed by targeting the production of the sLR11 protein.
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