Reducing Adiposity in a Critical Developmental Window Has Lasting Benefits in Mice. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Although most adults can lose weight by dieting, a well-characterized compensatory decrease in energy expenditure promotes weight regain more than 90% of the time. Using mice with impaired hypothalamic leptin signaling as a model of early-onset hyperphagia and obesity, we explored whether this unfavorable response to weight loss could be circumvented by early intervention. Early-onset obesity was associated with impairments in the structure and function of brown adipose tissue mitochondria, which were ameliorated by weight loss at any age. Although decreased sympathetic tone in weight-reduced adults resulted in net reductions in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and energy expenditure that promoted rapid weight regain, this was not the case when dietary interventions were initiated at weaning. Enhanced energy expenditure persisted even after mice were allowed to resume overeating, leading to lasting reductions in adiposity. These findings reveal a time window when dietary interventions can produce metabolic improvements that are stably maintained.

publication date

  • November 20, 2015

Research

keywords

  • Adiposity
  • Growth and Development
  • Obesity

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC4733128

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84956927862

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1210/en.2015-1753

PubMed ID

  • 26587784

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 157

issue

  • 2