Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Obesity

Metabolic elasticity — a new trait associated with health?

A recent study by Zhou and colleagues proposed that low metabolic elasticity and gene elasticity are involved in the metabolic alterations observed in ageing and obesity. Here, we discuss some of their findings to provide a viewpoint on these potential new traits associated with metabolic health.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Fernández-Verdejo, R., Moya-Osorio, J. L., Fuentes-López, E. & Galgani, J. E. Metabolic health and its association with lifestyle habits according to nutritional status in Chile: A cross-sectional study from the National Health Survey 2016-2017. PLoS One 15, e0236451 (2020).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhou, Q., Yu, L., Cook, J. R., Qiang, L. & Sun, L. Deciphering the decline of metabolic elasticity in aging and obesity. Cell Metab. 35, 1661–1671 (2023).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Ruderman, N. B. & Saha, A. K. Metabolic syndrome: adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and malonyl coenzyme A. Obesity (Silver Spring) 14 (Suppl. 1), 25S–33S (2006).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Galgani, J. E. & Fernández-Verdejo, R. Pathophysiological role of metabolic flexibility on metabolic health. Obes. Rev. 22, e13131 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Modell, H. et al. A physiologist’s view of homeostasis. Adv. Physiol. Educ. 39, 259–266 (2015).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Forbes, G. B. Lean body mass-body fat interrelationships in humans. Nutr. Rev. 45, 225–231 (1987).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hall, K. D. Body fat and fat-free mass inter-relationships: Forbes’s theory revisited. Br. J. Nutr. 97, 1059–1063 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Elia, M., Stubbs, R. J. & Henry, C. J. Differences in fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism between lean and obese subjects undergoing total starvation. Obes. Res. 7, 597–604 (1999).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hawley, J. A., Hargreaves, M., Joyner, M. J. & Zierath, J. R. Integrative biology of exercise. Cell 159, 738–749 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Egan, B. & Zierath, J. R. Exercise metabolism and the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle adaptation. Cell Metab. 17, 162–184 (2013).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jose E. Galgani.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Fernández-Verdejo, R., Galgani, J.E. Metabolic elasticity — a new trait associated with health?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 19, 689–690 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00914-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-023-00914-4

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing