Obesity is a serious health issue that is considered an epidemic disease in many countries. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat and having a BMI of 30 or higher. Several factors, such as age, gender, genetics, and lifestyle can make an individual more prone to obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity has been linked to many health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Recent studies have found an association between obesity and periodontal diseases. Periodontitis is an inflammatory oral disease that can cause gum infection and bone loss. People who suffer from obesity are at higher risk for periodontitis because the excess fat tissue can promote oral inflammation. Therefore, it is important to further understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that promote obesity-linked traits in humans.
One of the research labs that study the neural circuits underlying obesity is the Beshel lab. In one of their recent articles “A Leptin Analog Locally Produced in the Brain Acts via a Conserved Neural Circuit to Modulate Obesity-Linked Behaviors in Drosophila”, Dr. Jennifer Beshel and her lab investigated induced obesity in Drosophila Melanogaster through genetic manipulation of the fly leptin analog unpaired 1 (upd1) and fly leptin receptor analog, domeless receptors. Their results show that upd1is present in both fat tissue and brain cells, and targeted knockdown of upd1 in the brain cells but not in the fat cells produce obesity-related phenotypes in flies. It was also shown that specific knockdown of domeless in npf neurons results in weight gain and increased food consumption. Furthermore, this study showed that neural circuit manipulations cause hypersensitivity to obesogenic conditions, and therefore, both biological and environmental factors play important roles in obesity prevalence. The fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster is a strong model organism for the study of obesity in humans, and Dr. Beshel’s research can help us further understand underlying mechanisms in obesity, and how it is linked to other human diseases such as Periodontitis.
In the article “Obesity and oral health- Is there a link? An observational study”, Neeraj Chandrahas Deshpande and Mansi Rajendrakumar Amrutiya explored the possible association between obesity and periodontitis using different periodontal parameters. In this study, 100 individuals were divided into two groups, obese and nonobese, based on their body mass index (BMI) and levels of adipose tissue. Then, researchers measured various Periodontal parameters such as gingival index (GI), gingival recession (REC), pocket probing depth (PPD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL) in all participants. The results of the study show that the prevalence of all Periodontal parameters is significantly higher in obese individuals compared to nonobese individuals. Therefore, this study suggests a strong association between obesity and periodontitis.
As researchers all around the world conduct more studies on obesity, they find more correlations between obesity and many human diseases. Although many studies have investigated the association between obesity and conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, limited studies have explored the correlation between obesity and oral health conditions. Therefore, studies like Dr. Beshel’s project are important for understanding the mechanisms of obesity in order to investigate the impact of obesity on health and different diseases.
Works Cited:
Beshel, Jennifer, et al. “A Leptin Analog Locally Produced in the Brain Acts via a Conserved Neural Circuit to Modulate Obesity-Linked Behaviors in Drosophila.” Cell Metabolism, vol. 25, no. 1, 2017, pp. 208–217., doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2016.12.013.
Deshpande, Neeraj Chandrahas, and Mansi Rajendrakumar Amrutiya. “Obesity and oral health - Is there a link? An observational study.” Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology, vol. 21, no 3, 2017, pp. 229-233., doi:10.4103/jisp.jisp_305_16
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