Can We Treat Obesity with Regulated Hunger Signaling?

Recent research suggests that obesity can be controlled by regulating the satiety cascade, including influencing the nerves carrying hunger signals. Global obesity levels have almost doubled in the last 30 years. This is a worrying fact, especially when considering that obesity represents one of the major risk factors for many chronic diseases, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in particular. Thus, it is not surprising that conditions like insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes are becoming increasingly common worldwide. Although it is clear that obesity develops when caloric energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, it is not always easy to combat the excessive body weight and fat accumulation. Multiple strategies for tackling obesity and food intake have been developed. These include behavioral (including dietary) changes, interventions with multiple supplements, and pharmacological and surgical treatments. The latest research-supported developments include controlling obesity by regulating the satiety cascade by influencing the nerves carrying hunger signals. Hunger is a neural signal that initiates eating. Hunger signals originate in the stomach. Furthermore, gut hormones transfer information from the gastrointestinal tract to the centers of appetite regulation located in the central nervous system. This communication between the gut and the brain is known as the gut-brain axis. It is assumed that information from the gut can be transferred to the brain via b...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Brain Blogger Health-related Publishers Research gut-brain axis hunger signaling Obesity Weight Loss Source Type: blogs