Hormonal
Weight loss induces adipocyte shrinkage and metabolic adaptations that create a persistent biological drive to regain weight by increasing nutrient clearance efficiency and lowering energy expenditure, creating an 'energy gap' that promotes overeating.
Understand that after losing weight, your body biologically fights to regain it by making you hungrier and burning fewer calories. This is not a failure of willpower. Successful long-term maintenance requires acknowledging this persistent biological pressure and likely needs comprehensive, persistent strategies (behavioral, environmental, or pharmaceutical) to counter it, rather than relying on willpower alone.
Weight loss leads to a reduction in size of adipocytes and this decline in size alters their metabolic and inflammatory characteristics in a manner that facilitates the clearance and storage of ingested energy... an energy gap between appetite and metabolic requirements emerges and promotes a positive energy imbalance and weight regain.
Why this rating
Based on a comprehensive review of preclinical and human studies, though it is a review paper rather than a single primary trial.
Source
The role for adipose tissue in weight regain after weight loss
Paul S. MacLean et al. · Obesity Reviews · 2015
DOI 10.1111/obr.12255
More from this paper
- Smaller adipocytes resulting from weight loss exhibit higher insulin sensitivity and enhanced nutrient clearance capacity, which signals energy depletion to the brain and promotes the storage of ingested energy.Good
- Weight loss reduces circulating levels of leptin and insulin disproportionately to fat mass loss, signaling energy depletion to the hypothalamus and increasing appetite.Good
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This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →