Lipolysis defect in people with obesity who undergo metabolic surgery

Objective Cross‐sectional studies demonstrate that catecholamine stimulation of fat cell lipolysis is blunted in obesity. We investigated whether this defect persists after substantial weight loss has been induced by metabolic surgery, and whether it is related to the outcome. Design/Methods Patients with obesity not able to successfully reduce body weight by conventional means (n = 126) were investigated before and 5 years after Roux‐en‐Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB). They were compared with propensity‐score matched subjects selected from a control group (n = 1017), and with the entire group after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), fat cell volume and other clinical parameters. Catecholamine‐stimulated lipolysis (glycerol release) was investigated in isolated fat cells using noradrenaline (natural hormone) or isoprenaline (synthetic beta‐adrenoceptor agonist). Results Following RYGB, BMI was reduced from 39.9 (37.5–43.5) (median and interquartile range) to 29.5 (26.7–31.9) kg/m2 (p