A new study published in Nature Medicine has revealed important insights into the aging process.
It’s common knowledge that as we age and our metabolism slows down, our muscle tissue starts to weaken and we start to gain weight. But although this is easily observed in the world around us, many of the biological mechanisms that underly aging and weight gain are still misunderstood. A recent Swedish study into aging and weight gain has determined that decreasing lipid turnover in fatty tissue is a leading cause of weight gain as we age. You can read the full article as it was published in September’s Nature Medicine here.
What does lipid turnover mean?
In biology, turnover is the rate at which our body consumes and replaces different types of proteins. Different proteins have different rates at which they are consumed. Lipids are a group of naturally occurring organic compounds in the body which include fats and oils.
The study, which tracked 65 people over a 13 year period, showed that lipid turnover decreased in every subject regardless of whether they gained or lost weight. In simple terms, it means that the process of their bodies consuming and replacing fats — as opposed to just storing them — slowed down over that period for every individual. The study is also notable because it proved that aging, independent of other factors such as diet and exercise, is the primary agent in kickstarting this process.
How does lipid turnover affect weight gain?
Slow lipid turnover has long been associated with obesity in people of all ages. Understanding how lipid turnover functions has been critical to scientists interested in the health problems associated with weight and obesity. As mentioned in the abstract of the study, it was previously unknown “whether lipid turnover is constant over the life span or changes during weight increase or loss.” This study shows that there are factors that can change the body’s natural rate of fat consumption.
This is great news for bodybuilders, who have been arguing for awhile now about the role of metabolism in the fitness world. Although this is only one small piece of the puzzle, it does suggest that we have more control than we think over the body’s natural processes, and that the key to unlocking their secrets could be out there somewhere.
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