Low 24-hour core body temperature as a thrifty metabolic trait driving catch-up fat during weight regain after caloric restriction
Abstract
The recovery of body weight after substantial weight loss or growth retardation is often characterized by a disproportionately higher rate of fat mass vs. lean mass recovery, with this phenomenon of “preferential catch-up fat” being contributed by energy conservation (thrifty) metabolism. To test the hypothesis that a low core body temperature (T c ) constitutes a thrifty metabolic trait underlying the high metabolic efficiency driving catch-up fat, the Anipill system, with telemetry capsules implanted in the peritoneal cavity, was used for continuous monitoring of T c for several weeks in a validated rat model of semistarvation-refeeding in which catch-up fat is driven solely by suppressed thermogenesis. In animals housed at 22°C, 24-h T c was reduced in response to semistarvation (−0.77°C, P < 0.001) and remained significantly lower than in control animals during the catch-up fat phase of refeeding (−0.27°C on average, P < 0.001), the lower T c during refeeding being more pronounced during the light phase than during the dark phase of the 24-h cycle (−0.30°C vs. −0.23°C, P < 0.01) and with no between-group differences in locomotor activity. A lower 24-h T c in animals showing catch-up fat was also observed when the housing temperature was raised to 29°C (i.e., at thermoneutrality). The reduced energy cost of homeothermy in response to caloric restriction persists during weight recovery and constitutes a thrifty metabolic trait that contributes to the high metabolic efficiency that underlies the rapid restoration of the body’s fat stores during weight regain, with implications for obesity relapse after therapeutic slimming and the pathophysiology of catch-up growth.
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Weight regain following caloric restriction interventions appears to preferentially favor increased fat mass versus lean/muscle mass, potentially due to altered lipid oxidation.
“weight regain following CR interventions appears to preferentially favor increased fat mass vs. lean/muscle mass [123, 133], potentially due to altered lipid oxidation [134].”
From Targeting Intramyocellular Lipids to Improve Aging Muscle Function (2025) · cites this paper as [133]
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Circadian rhythmicity of body temperature and metabolism
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Targeting Intramyocellular Lipids to Improve Aging Muscle Function
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“A potential further complication of the use of CR in an older population is common observation, in humans and animals, that weight regain following CR interventions appears to preferentially favor increased fat mass vs. lean/muscle mass [123, 133], potentially due to altered lipid oxidation [134].”
- Authors
- Calonne, J., Arsenijevic, D., Scerri, I., Miles-Chan, J. L., Montani, J.-P., & Dulloo, A. G.
- Affiliations
- University of Fribourg (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Dulloo, Abdul G.
- Venue
- American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2019-10-01
- Volume
- 317
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- E699-E709
- ISSN
- 0193-1849 (ISSN-L)
- 1522-1555
- OpenAlex
- W2969295847
- Cited by
- 15
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 0.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RERO DOC (Universität Bern) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Swiss National Science Foundation (310030_152870)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Physiological and biochemical adaptations
- Keywords
- weight regain, caloric restriction, core body temperature, thermogenesis, homeothermy, energy conservation, metabolic efficiency, thermoneutrality, catch-up growth, rats
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Body Composition, Body Temperature, Energy Metabolism, Male, Motor Activity, Temperature, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Thermogenesis, Caloric Restriction, Rats
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