Research
Energy balance
Preobese individuals with a low relative resting metabolic rate (RMR) normalized for fat-free mass are at higher risk for future weight gain and obesity.
If you are preobese, your metabolic rate relative to your muscle mass might be lower than average, making you more prone to weight gain. Monitoring your metabolic rate or focusing on building fat-free mass could be beneficial strategies for prevention.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Longitudinal studies on adult Caucasian people... confirmed in adult Caucasian persons that a low relative RMR was predictive of weight gain.
Why this rating
Cites multiple longitudinal studies showing predictive value, though some have methodological limitations.
Source
Obesity: a disease of the ponderostat and the regulation of energy balance
Silvio Buscemi et al. · Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia Bulimia and Obesity · 2025
DOI 10.1007/s40519-025-01790-9
narrative_review
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Leptin resistance is a common trait in obesity that impairs the feedback between fat mass and the hypothalamus, leading to dysregulated appetite and energy storage.Good
- Obesity is a disease of the ponderostat characterized by a dysregulated neuroendocrine set point that actively defends a higher body weight through compensatory reductions in energy expenditure and increases in appetite.Moderate
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