Hormonal
Restoring physiological signaling (e.g., via leptin administration) in weight-reduced individuals reverses metabolic adaptations (increased hunger, decreased energy expenditure) and promotes weight maintenance, whereas inducing weight loss alone is insufficient due to strong homeostatic defense of body fat.
If you have lost weight, expect your body to fight to regain it through increased hunger and slower metabolism. Simply losing weight is not enough; long-term success likely requires strategies that address these biological drivers, such as medical interventions that restore normal hormonal signaling, rather than relying solely on willpower.
Leibel therefore suggested that the focus of obesity therapy should be restoring normal physiology in weight-reduced individuals rather than inducing weight loss... raising leptin concentrations after weight reduction... resulted in a smaller decline in energy expenditure, improved satiation, and reversed the increase in muscle contractile efficiency that normally occurs with weight reduction.
Why this rating
Based on controlled human weight-perturbation experiments and neuroimaging data presented by a leading researcher.
Source
Nutrition and the science of disease prevention: a systems approach to support metabolic health
Brian J. Bennett et al. · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2015
DOI 10.1111/nyas.12945
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Related findings · Hormonal
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