The More Stored Fat, The More Weight Loss is Tough

The more fat you carry, the more the body produces a protein that inhibits your ability to burn fat, according to new research.

While weight loss is usually a longer journey for people with more weight to lose, researchers haven't necessarily understood exactly why - until now.

A protein called sLR11 acts to suppress the process of thermogenesis, which helps the body to burn fat in order to stay warm.

Mice who lack the gene for the production of this protein are more resistant to weight gain, researchers said.

The fat-storing process

In humans, the study found, the sLR11 protein was associated with total fat mass: the greater the levels of the protein, the higher the fat mass.The protein appears to prevent rapid fat burning in order to make the body more effective at storing energy over long periods of time.

"Our discovery may help explain why overweight individuals find it incredibly hard to lose weight," said Dr. Andrew Whittle, study author. "Their stored fat is actively fighting against their efforts to burn it off at the molecular level."

Drugs that block the action of this protein may help patients who need to lose weight, said Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

"But an effective medicine to treat obesity, which safely manages weight loss is still some way off," Pearson said.

Source: University of Cambridge

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