Study reveals negative effects of dieting on fat tissue

Why does the lost weight come back? Im­paired mi­to­chon­drial func­tion is a po­ten­tial cause.

Mitochondria are important cellular power plants whose diminished activity has been previously demonstrated to be associated with obesity by a group of researchers at the University of Helsinki.

In a new international study coordinated by the University of Helsinki, the researchers have determined that the method of weight loss affects the metabolic pathways of mitochondria in fat tissue, also known as adipose tissue.

The study was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The researchers combined two datasets on calorie restriction diets and two datasets on weight loss surgery, or bariatric surgery, from Europe, monitoring dieters’ weight loss as well as metabolism. A biopsy was taken from the study subjects’ adipose tissue both at the beginning and the end of their weight reduction.

The analyses conducted in the study were set in proportion to weight loss so that the results did not depend on greater weight loss in patients who had undergone surgery.

Why does the lost weight come back? Im­paired mi­to­chon­drial func­tion is a po­ten­tial cause. Weight loss brings improvements to many metabolic changes associated with obesity, including disorders of glucose and lipid metabolism. Such beneficial effects were also observed in the new study, both in those who followed a regular diet and in those who underwent bariatric surgery.