Circulating ACE is a predictor of weight loss maintenance not only in overweight and obese women, but also in men
Author interview: Edwin C.M. Mariman and Ping Wang
Edwin C.M. Mariman, PhD,
Professor of Functional Genetics,
NUTRIM School for Nutrition, Toxicology and Metabolism
Maastricht University Medical Centre + (MUMC+)
Maastricht, The Netherlands.
What are the main findings of the study?
In a group of obese men it was demonstrated that the degree, by which the ACE concentration in blood changes during weight loss, is a predictor of the risk for weight regain during a follow-up period of 6 months. It confirms recent finding in females (Wang et al., PLoS One 2011 6(2): e16773), in whom the predicting power of ACE seems even stronger. ACE is now one of very few physiological predictors of weight regain after weight loss.
Were any of the findings unexpected?
ACE is well known for regulating blood pressure and a relation with weight regain or weight maintenance was quite unexpected, although the gene for ACE has been found associated with obesity.
What should clinicians and patients take away from this study?
ACE might become part of a diagnostic tool identifying subjects with increased risk for weight regain after weight loss, who can then be given extra guidance to prevent weight regain.
What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of your study?
Many questions remain to be answered. The biology behind the relation between ACE and weight regain/maintenance is presently unknown. But a clear message from this research seems to be that such metabolic predictors can be found and this warrants a more intensive search to find them. It will learn us more about the mechanisms behind weight regain and may be helpful to sustain long term weight maintenance by using those predictors to identify subjects who are at high risk for weight regain. However, at this moment this is all still in a preliminary stage.
Reference:
Circulating ACE is a predictor of weight loss maintenance not only in overweight and obese women, but also in men
P Wang, C Holst, W K W H Wodzig, M R Andersen, A Astrup, M A van Baak, T M Larsen, S A Jebb, A Kafatos, A F H Pfeiffer, J A Martinez, T Handjieva-Darlenska, M Kunesova, N Viguerie, D Langin, W H M Saris, E C M Mariman and on behalf of Diogenes consortium
International Journal of Obesity , (24 January 2012) | doi:10.1038/ijo.2011.278