New discovery could help the overweight

In most overweight people, the existing fat cells get bigger over time. However, it is better for metabolic health to have many smaller fat cells rather than fewer larger ones. For this reason, researchers are attempting to find ways to stimulate the formation of new fat cells.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL) have made a breakthrough: they have discovered a new type of cell in mammalian fatty tissue that hinders the formation of new fat cells. New fat cells do in fact appear when this cell type, which has been named Aregs – adipogenesis regulatory cells – has been removed from the fatty tissue.

Aregs open up intriguing treatment possibilities, ETH reported in a press release. When people are overweight, the cells can no longer store the fat and they release it into the bloodstream, which deposits it in the liver and muscles, thus increasing the risk of diabetes and other secondary conditions. Through the formation of new cells, excess fat can be stored and secondary conditions prevented as a result.

ETH highlights that this finding only focuses on the physiological health of the overweight. For those looking to lose weight, there’s still only one way to do it: take in fewer calories than you use.