Clues about appetite may help obesity
Co-funded by the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Professor Steve Bloom’s team at Imperial College London is also investigating ways to combat obesity. In one study, the scientists uncovered the role of gut hormones in the regulation of appetite. Building on a previous discovery that gut hormones are important in regulating food intake, they have now shown that a hormone called oxyntomodulin not only reduces food intake but also increases energy expenditure in both obese and lean individuals. They have also looked at why gut bypass surgery works, and found that it increases circulating levels of oxyntomodulin and other hormones thought to be involved in regulating appetite. “This research might form the basis of the first truly effective medical therapy for obesity,” said Professor Bloom.
International Journal of Obesity 2006; 30: 1729-1736