Obesity may be irreversible

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Only one-third of Canadians admit to being ?very? or ?somewhat? overweight, despite national statistics that indicate the true proportion of overweight Canadians is greater.

Photograph by: TIM SLOAN , AFP/Getty Images

LONDON ? Scientists have discovered that being obese for some time ?flips a switch? that resets normal body weight to be ?irreversibly? higher casting doubt over the success of exercise and diet.

Children are most at risk because if their obesity is not tackled, it may condemn them to a life of being morbidly overweight.

Dr. Malcolm Low, from the University of Michigan, said: ?Somewhere along the way, if obesity is allowed to continue, the body appears to flip a switch that re-programs to a heavier set weight.

?The exact mechanisms that cause this shift are still unknown and require much further study that will help us better understand why the regaining of weight seems almost unavoidable.?

Researchers studied an animal model of obese mice showing that the longer mice remained overweight, the more ?irreversible? obesity became.

The rodents were subjected to a rigorous regime of strict dieting and exercise, but while they initially shed the pounds, they remained fatter than other mice who had never been overfed.

These rodents had learned to reset their ?normal? body weight set point to become permanently higher than their counterparts.

Scientists probed what caused this discrepancy and found they were able to flip a genetic switch in mice that controlled their hunger.

Turning on the switch right after weaning prevented the mice from overeating and ever becoming obese.

And mice that remained at a healthy weight into young adulthood by strict dieting were able to maintain normal weight without dieting after their hunger switch was turned on.

But chronically overfed mice who developed obesity in infancy never returned to normal weight after flipping the switch, even if they dieted and exercised a lot.

Low said the study showed the importance of tackling childhood obesity if lives are to be saved.

?Our model demonstrates that obesity is in part a self-perpetuating disorder and the results further emphasize the importance of early intervention in childhood to try to prevent the condition whose effects can last a lifetime.

?Our new animal model will be useful in pinpointing the reasons why most adults find it exceedingly difficult to maintain meaningful weight loss from dieting and exercise alone.?

? Copyright (c) The Daily Telegraph

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Source: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/diet-fitness/Obesity+irreversible+body+flips+switch+accept+extra/7452467/story.html

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