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Nervous system activity affects weight loss results
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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A recent study by Australian scientists has found that the activity of the human nervous system affects the effectiveness of weight loss in obesity.
A study of obese volunteers who participated in a 12-week dietary weight loss program found that weight loss was significantly greater in those with a predominance of sympathetic nervous system activity, as opposed to those with a predominance of parasympathetic nervous system activity.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
The sympathetic nervous system is widely distributed throughout the body and subconsciously regulates many physiological functions, including resting state, metabolic rate, and calorie absorption after meals. The present study examined the relationship between sympathetic nervous system activity and weight loss in obese individuals on a low-calorie diet.
In this study, researchers looked at 42 overweight people who followed a diet that reduced their daily calorie intake by 30% for 12 weeks. Sympathetic nervous system activity was measured using microneurography. The researchers found that people with more sympathetic nervous system activity lost more weight than other participants.
"We have demonstrated for the first time that sympathetic nervous system activity is an important independent factor in weight loss in people who are overweight or obese. These findings will help scientists in two ways. Firstly, we can identify those who will be able to lose more weight when dieting. Secondly, the findings may also help in the development of specific programs to stimulate this specific neural activity," said lead author Nora Straznicki, PhD, of the Melbourne Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.