JAKARTA - Not a few people experience a larger waist circumference as they get older, even though their weight is not significantly increased. When experiencing this, many people associate it with overeating and rarely doing physical activities.
However, recent research reveals that there is a biological process in the body that may play a role in making belly fat accumulate as you get older.
Quoted from Science Daily, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, researchers from City of Hope discovered a new type of stem cell that appears as the aging process progresses and is suspected to be the trigger for the formation of fat in the abdomen in greater quantities.
"People often lose muscle mass and experience an increase in body fat as they age, even when their weight remains the same," said study author Qiong Wang.
"We found that aging triggers the emergence of a new type of adult stem cell and increases the body's ability to produce new fat cells, especially around the stomach," he added.
The research team focused on white adipose tissue, which is the main tissue that stores fat reserves in the body. To test it, the researchers studied adipocyte progenitor cells (APCs), which are stem cells that can develop into fat cells.
The results showed that the APC of older animals produced significantly more new fat cells compared to the APC of young animals. These findings indicate that the ability of large amounts of fat has been inherent in these cells as the aging process progresses.
According to the Head of the City of Hope Department of Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, Adolfo Gracia-Ocana, this finding is evidence that the stomach can become enlarged due to increased production of new fat cells.
"While most adult stem cells lose their ability to develop as they age, APC actually shows the opposite. Aging opens up the ability of these cells to develop and spread," he said.
Not only that, researchers also analyzed human tissue samples from various age groups. The results found cells that are very similar to CP-As and the number is more in middle-aged individuals than younger age groups.
The cells also showed a high ability to form new fat cells. Thus, these findings indicate that the biological processes found in animals may also occur in humans.
"Understanding the role of CP-As in metabolic disorders and how these cells emerge during the aging process could pave the way for new medical solutions to reduce abdominal fat as well as improve health and longevity," concluded Qiong Wang.
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