Despite our best efforts – the seemingly endless exercise routines, the soul-crushing dieting – losing weight always seems to be an unattainable goal. But as new research suggests, it may not all be your fault! You see,  recent studies have found that a person’s likelihood for obesity may all be due to their genes!

In this study, which was published in Diabetes, Temple University researchers examined fat taken from both obese and lean people, and found major differences between the different samples. Specifically, the obese subjects’ fat cells displayed significant stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). These cellular regions are responsible for synthesizing (manufacturing) proteins that are crucial for the production of insulin.

Why is this important? Well, insulin production is closely linked with obesity and its related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. The researchers observed a great deal of inflammation in the obese subjects’ fat tissue. “This is the first human study to show that the fat in obese people is ‘sick,’ meaning that it does not function as it should,” states lead researcher Guenther Boden, MD. These findings may hold great health benefits for diabetic patients who undergo weight loss surgical procedures. Diabetic patients typically experience improved insulin resistance just days after their procedures; well before they lost significant amounts of weight.

These findings actually provide a good explanation of how bariatric surgery works –  and why it can be so successful! “People have all kinds of theories about why bariatric surgery works the way it does, but the most simple and straightforward explanation is that the dramatic and immediate reduction in caloric intake is responsible for this improvement,” notes Boden.

Understanding the Role of Body Fat

Body fat has one mission, to store excess energy, or “calories.” Quite simply, a person should only take in the amount of calories that the body needs for its regular activities. If too many calories are taken in, you gain weight. And, this excess weight can stress the surrounding fat tissue  so much that it becomes fatigued and stops working properly. Medical experts believe that it’s not obesity that is so harmful, but rather, the constant amount of excess calories.

The study’s researchers examined six subjects with normal weight and six obese subjects who did not suffer from diabetes. It was shown that the obese subjects’ fat cells displayed much higher levels of proteins related to energy and fat metabolism. And, these cells displayed higher levels of the ER stress-related response. This is very important, as scientists have long tried to establish  a connection between this ER stress and insulin resistance.

“We really don’t understand what insulin resistance is,” says R. Paul Robertson, MD, an endocrinologist and diabetes researcher professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Washington. He’s also the president-elect of medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association. “We know it exists, but we don’t have a good molecular explanation for it. Studies like this one provide important clues.”