New research reveals the cellular mechanism behind middle-aged people gaining weight around the waist.

Researchers from institutions such as the City of Hope National Medical Center and the University of California, Los Angeles, published a study in the latest issue of the journal Science, revealing the "culprit" behind age-related abdominal fat accumulation and providing a new scientific basis for explaining middle-aged weight gain. The researchers focused on adipose precursor cells, a group of stem cells in white adipose tissue that can differentiate into fat cells. While the proliferative capacity of most adult stem cells declines with age, adipose precursor cells, on the contrary, release their potential for differentiation and expansion with aging.