Fat cells remember obesity making weight loss harder to maintain, study finds

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Many factors lead to the frustrating cycle of weight gain and weight loss — but the driving force may be fat cells keeping a memory of obesity .

That’s according to a recent study that was first published in the journal Nature last fall.

Researchers say that fat cells influence abnormal metabolic pathways in the body long after pounds are shed, which could make it more likely for people to regain weight.

STUDY DIRECTLY COMPARES ZEPBOUND AND WEGOVY FOR WEIGHT-LOSS RESULTS

Study findings

The team of Swiss scientists were curious whether regaining weight after slimming down is due to "metabolic memory," where the body remembers and strives to return to its former state of obesity.

They analyzed chemical markers on fat cells in mice who were fed a high-fat diet