Researchers at the University of California, Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health announced on Mar. 10 that they have identified how the hormone asprosin influences long-term weight change among postmenopausal women in the United States. The study suggests that asprosin may play a significant role in shaping body composition and maintaining weight stability, which could help guide future obesity prevention strategies.
Weight gain after menopause is known to increase cardiometabolic risk, including type 2 diabetes, but the biological factors behind long-term weight changes are not well understood. Asprosin is a fasting-induced hormone secreted mainly by adipose tissue and is involved in regulating energy balance by stimulating glucose release from the liver and signaling appetite in the brain. While previous research has connected asprosin to metabolic disorders, its predictive role for long-term weight change had not been established in humans until now.
The findings were published in The Journal of Nutrition. The research team, led by Simin Liu, chair and distinguished professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Wen Public Health, analyzed data from more than 4,000 postmenopausal women who participated in the Women's Health Initiative—a national study involving women ages 50 to 79 enrolled at 40 clinical centers across the country.
Researchers measured baseline asprosin levels using blood samples collected between September 1993 and December 1998. They tracked changes in body weight, fat accumulation, and lean body mass over three years. A subset of participants also underwent advanced body composition assessment with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.
Among women without obesity or diabetes at baseline, those with higher asprosin levels gained less weight over three years compared to those with lower levels. These women were also less likely to experience major weight gain and more likely to achieve major weight loss; however, some of this loss was due to reductions in lean body mass rather than fat alone.
The researchers said that asprosin may help maintain weight stability when metabolic health is intact but noted its influence appears to decrease when insulin resistance or early diabetes disrupt hormonal pathways. Further studies are needed to clarify asprosin's role in developing type 2 diabetes and whether modifying its levels could lead to effective treatments.
