If you’re struggling to lose weight despite exercising regularly, you’ll be happy to know there’s new research that may solve the mystery.
It turns out that people may be lacking a key metabolic component that prevents them from burning fat during exercise. They may also consume less oxygen while exercising. This puts them at risk of gaining weight, which can lead to obesity and diabetes. This new research suggests that there may be new ways to target obesity beyond drugs aimed at suppressing appetite.
The researchers Kobe University They investigated a signaling molecule called PGC-1⍺ (“a”), which is involved in fat burning during exercise.
The body produces multiple versions of the protein, including so-called “b” and “c” variants. These two have the same function as the “a” signaling molecule, but with a key difference: the “b” and “c” variants are produced 10-fold more in muscles during exercise, while version “a” doesn’t see a similar increase.
Wataru Ogawa, an endocrinologist at Kobe University, and his team hypothesized that molecules “b” and “c” are involved in energy metabolism during exercise, meaning they help burn fat during exercise.
In the experiment, they created mice lacking the “b” and “c” signaling molecules and expressing only the “a” mutant. They then measured muscle growth, fat burning, and oxygen consumption during three stages: rest, short-term exercise, and long-term training.
In addition, the researchers recruited volunteers, both with and without type 2 diabetes, to perform similar tests: people who are obese and those with type 2 diabetes may also have reduced levels of the signaling molecule.
The researchers concluded that mice lacking the “b” and “c” molecules were unable to adapt quickly to short-term activity, therefore consuming less oxygen and burning less fat during and after exercise.
Scientists came to a similar conclusion when studying human volunteers: Both healthy subjects and those with type 2 diabetes had less body fat, so the more oxygen they consumed and the more “b” and “c” proteins they produced.
But the study also found that long-term exercise could benefit even those subjects who could only make “a” proteins: Subjects who exercised regularly developed more muscle after six weeks of training, regardless of whether they could make “b” and “c” proteins.
Interestingly, the researchers discovered another important function of the PGC-1⍺ protein and its variants: it could affect how subjects responded to cold.
In this study, the researchers looked at changes in PGC-1⍺ in fat tissue. When exposed to cold, mice produced more of the fat-burning “b” and “c” proteins to keep them warm. Mice that were unable to produce the “b” and “c” proteins experienced a significant drop in body temperature when exposed to cold.
The findings seem to suggest that the “b” and “c” versions of the signaling molecule may be able to trigger metabolic responses in response to any kind of short-term stimuli, not just training.
The main takeaway concerns the subjects’ ability to burn fat during and after exercise.
“Recently, anti-obesity drugs that suppress appetite have been developed and are being prescribed in many countries around the world,” Ogawa and his team said. statement.
“However, there are currently no drugs that treat obesity by increasing energy expenditure. If we could find a substance that increases vitamin B and vitamin C, it could lead to the development of drugs that increase energy expenditure during exercise or without exercise. Such drugs could potentially treat obesity independently of dietary restrictions.”
The full survey results are available at in Molecular MetabolismResearchers are currently investigating how “b” and “c” proteins increase in muscles during exercise.
