Weight loss research moves quickly, and our understanding of what is actually happening underneath the lost kilos is continually evolving. At the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting next week, new evidence will add to our understanding of how body composition changes during weight loss and how these changes may impact overall metabolic health.
Adipose tissue, long thought of as a passive energy store, is now recognized as a dynamic, metabolically active endocrine organ. Beyond a reduction in volume, there are other ways that adipose tissue can change during weight loss and with treatment. Henrik Haraldsson, Senior Director MR Imaging, is presenting, on behalf of co-authors from Antaros Medical and Altimmune, how adipose tissue fat fraction changes with weight loss and intervention in overweight/obesity.
Changes in muscle volume and composition have become a focus for determining what constitutes healthy weight loss. Part of understanding these dynamics in different patient populations includes looking at how muscles change with aging. Lars Johansson, Chief Scientific Officer, will present on behalf of co-authors from Uppsala University, research on how muscle volumes and composition change with aging on a population level, based on analysis of more than 35,000 magnetic resonance images from the UK Biobank.
Finally, the latest interventional body composition data from the REIMAGINE 1 study will be shared, including MRI-based assessments of adipose tissue depots including visceral (VAT), subcutaneous (SAT), inter- and intramuscular (inter-MAT and intra-MAT) alongside fat-free muscle volumes.
We look forward to seeing how these and other findings presented at #EASD2026 build on our understanding of what happens underneath the lost kilos during weight loss.