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Scientists have found that obesity is an irreversible process
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Obese people can never get rid of extra pounds, even if they adhere to a strict diet and lead an active lifestyle. Scientists explain this by saying that their body is reprogrammed to accumulate weight.
Scientists from the University of Michigan found that for some time, while a man is obese, his body "turns the switch", which does not allow a person to restore his normal weight. In particular, this risk affects children, whose overweight parents perceive as a baby fat. If you turn a blind eye to this problem, in the future the child will not only have weight problems, but all the consequences: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and so on.
According to statistics, in the UK almost a third of children between the ages of 2 and 15 have a diagnosis of obesity or overweight. Obesity is considered a chronic disease, which is characterized by excessive growth of adipose tissue. Every year this problem is gaining in scale.
Specialists conducted experiments in mice to find out whether obesity is indeed an irreversible process.
During the experiment, experts observed rodents suffering from obesity. The more was the mass of the animal's body, the more irreversible was this process.
The mice underwent a very strict diet and an intense program of physical activity. But anyway, to achieve the same results as mice, which were never overfed, obese animals and failed.
It turned out that rodents who did not suffer from obesity and had a normal weight from an early age even after switching on the switch remained the same. And those who were fed from childhood, could not restore the weight to an acceptable level.
"The results we obtained - the evidence that it is very important to intervene in the process of gaining excess weight in childhood, then obesity can be stopped," lead author Malcolm Lowe summarizes. "That's why it's so difficult for adults who are overweight to lose weight. And even the strictest diets and long physical training will not be able to help in what should be watched from a young age. "
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