It has become known why the belly starts to grow with age

Scientists revealed the secret of age-related belly fat: cellular mechanism of excess weight accumulation discovered. The results of the revolutionary study were published in the journal Science.

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles made an important discovery - they identified a special type of stem cells, called committed preadipocytes (CP-As). These cells are practically inactive at a young age but begin to actively produce fat cells when a person reaches middle age.

"Aging triggers the emergence of a new type of adult stem cells that actively form adipose tissue, especially in the abdominal area," explained one of the study's authors, Dr. Qiong Wang.

Experiments on mice showed that the activation of these cells occurs through a specific LIFR (leukemia inhibitory factor receptor) signaling pathway. Scientists believe that blocking this pathway could be a breakthrough in developing new methods to combat age-related weight gain.

Interestingly, when "old" stem cells were transplanted into young mice, they did not change their behavior and continued to actively form fat cells. At the same time, "young" cells transplanted into elderly individuals maintained low activity.

Analysis of human tissues confirmed the presence of similar cells in middle-aged people. This scientific discovery explains why, over the years, even while maintaining overall body mass, tissue redistribution occurs - muscle mass decreases while the fat layer increases.