Obesity has become one of the most problematic health issues in America. With obesity contributing to diabetes and heart disease, it has become one of the leading causes of death in the world. Being obese is defined as being excessively overweight based on your body mass index (BMI). For some, obesity can be due to genetic factors. For others, it can be due to environmental factors specially linked to available diet and nutrition. Major issues with maintaining a healthy body weight is a combination of a lack of exercise as well as feeling hungry. To fully cease the progression of obesity across America, and the rest of the world, it is essential to understand what is physically contributing to the feeling of hunger and how we can combat it.
Dr. Jennifer Beshel and her research team investigated a genetic aspect of obesity. Using Drosophila flies, her team sought to understand the effects of upd1 on food attraction, feeding, and fat storage, all of which play a role in the development of obesity. Through multiple manipulations, it was uncovered that upd1 in the brain was responsible for all of the obesity-related behaviors listed above. In fact, the knockout of upd1 in Drosophila resulted in increased food attraction, intake, and weight gain. Upon further investigation, it was understood that the neuropeptide F positive expressing neurons containing domeless receptors controlling upd1 were essential to satiety in Drosophila flies.
If one can uncover a chemical that functions to promote satiety through these neural pathways in the brain, the world may be a step closer to curing obesity. A study published in 2015 introduced a newly discovered chemical called Celastrol. Celastrol was found to result in weight loss in mice. Leptin, a satiety hormone, contributes vastly to the control of food intake in the body. Celastrol functions by increasing the activity of leptin, therefore decreasing your appetite. Although Celastrol has not yet been approved for human use, its current research shows vast potetial.
Diets can be useful for individuals who seek to lose weight. However, diets can be discouraging since, in some cases, it does not alleviate the feeling of being hungry. Safely incorporating chemicals such as Celastrol, that function to promote satiety, into every day foods could be the next approach to curing obesity.
Rupp, Rebecca. “New Hope for Weight Loss May Grow on a Chinese Vine.” National
Geographic, 27 May 2015, www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2015/05/27/new-hope-for-weight-loss-may-grow-on-a-chinese-vine/?user.testname=photogallery%3A3.
Beshel, J. “A Leptin Analog Locally Produced in the Brain Acts via a Conserved Neural Circuit
to modulate Obesity-Linked Behaviors in Drosophila”. Cell Metabolism, 10 January 2017
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