As millions of people enter 2020 with a new resolve to slim down, they have a pesky physiological fact to contend with: No matter how much weight they lose, the number of fat cells in their bodies will likely never actually decrease.
Instead, our fat cells simply shrink in size, lingering in tissues ready to swell again with excess energy. When we lose weight, most of us probably imagine our fat cells disappearing, excised by the “fat-burning” exercises or “gut-busting” diets we’re using. But Michael Jensen, an obesity researcher at the Mayo Clinic, says anyone hoping to shed pounds should be aware of the way these cells actually react to weight loss.
“For people who lose, say, 20 pounds when they go on their diet after New Year’s,” he says, “their fat cells haven’t gone away.”
