The Truth Of Obesity

[IreneJessica]

Abstract: Thinness is regard as beauty by modern women. The best way to lose weight is eating less, doing more. But it seems too simple for group level obesity. Scientists think that effective strategies of losing weight need to combine neurosciences, genetics and behavioural science and start with many aspects.


Recently, Nature Outlook introduces many research achievements including obesity and inheritance, obesity and microbiome, and obesity and neurosciences.


Obesity and inheritance
Stephen O'Rahilly and Sadaf Farooqi, two geneticists came from Cambridge University, have been engaged in the study of gene associated with obesity for 15 years. In 1997, they acquired the first major breakthrough achievements. They made a rapid blood analysis for a pair of severe obesity cousins from Pakistan; found that the two children were lack of leptin (a hormone to control appetite) and the gene that generated leptin mutated, namely the ob gene that discovered recently.


This is the first time really proved that our genes can lead to obesity.


In addition to the genetic influence in the genome, epigenetic is also one of the reasons for obesity genetic. Michael Skinner, epigenetics at Washington State University discovered that pregnant rats were exposed to some pollutants, which will lead to obesity of their offspring, and researchers proved that the epigenetic changed in sperm.


Obesity and microbiome
A few years ago, Prof. Li ping Zhao, a microbiologist came from Shanghai Jiaotong University, helped a patient with a BIM of 58.8 (which refers to severe obesity) for treatment. The patient lost weight 50kg after 6 months treatment. And a bacterium called Enterobacter could not find in his feces sample, which occupied 35% of intestinal canal before.
Prof. Zhao and other researchers thought that human intestinal flora, that is, about 1000 kinds of bacteria in our digestive tract, have great significance of adjusting the weight. “In order to lose weight, we also need to consider the nutritional needs of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. Also, a healthy diet can prevent obesity.” Zhao said.


Obesity and neurosciences
Many people think that overeating is caused by the weak willpower, but strong feeding behavior is controlled by strong biological. Bradford Lowell, a neurologist came from Beth Israel deaconess hospital, would realize it in the early 1970s. He scratched some small wounds on rats’ brain, hoping to find brain regions associated with obesity. After these animals began to overeat and became very fat, Lowell was surprised to find that so small lesions can have such a huge impact.


In addition, living clock is also closely associated with obesity, a study points out that an important signaling system in the brain controls the appetite, energy consumption and fat composition of body. One of the specific genes determines the body weight.


In human brain, neurotransmitter NPY acts on four famous cell surface receptors (Y1 Y2 Y4 and Y5), trigger effect of the NPY system. And there is receptor Y6 in mice brain, which is responsible for regulating the living clock and the production of growth hormone.


Besides, Y6 gene can promote the high level expression of specific peptides including vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) of controlling growth hormone release.


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