Epigenetic changes from obesity persist after weight loss, altering fat cell function and increasing the risk of weight regain, impacting metabolic health.

Adipose tissue retains 'memories' of obesity through cellular epigenetic changes that persist after weight loss. This would increase the chances of regaining weight, as experiments with human and mouse cells show.

Anyone who has ever tried to get rid of a few extra kilos knows the frustration: the weight drops initially, only to be back within a matter of weeks—the yo-yo effect has struck. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now been able to show that this is all down to epigenetics.

Hi, this is Naomi in Berlin, where the season of gingerbread and chocolate will soon threaten to reprogram everyone’s cells. More on that soon, but

"We’ve found a molecular basis for the yo-yo effect," said Ferdinand von Meyenn, professor of nutrition and metabolic epigenetics at ETH Zurich university in Switzerland.

Even after drastic weight loss, the body’s fat cells carry the ‘memory’ of obesity, research 1 shows — a finding that might help to explain why it can be hard to stay trim after a weight-loss programme.