Category: Obesity

Researchers in the UK have discovered that topping up levels of a gut hormone could help people stave off feelings of hunger as well as increase activity in overweight and obese people.

According to research to be published in the International Journal of Obesity injections of the appetite-suppressing hormone oxyntomodulin, which is found in the lower intestine, have a “double effect” on people.

Chief researcher Steve Bloom of Imperial College London points out that, “The discovery that this hormone has a double effect, increasing energy expenditure as well as reducing food intake, could be of huge importance. When most people diet, this produces a reduction in activity, which is probably an adaptive trait to conserve energy during times of famine. However, this does make it especially difficult for obese individuals trying to loose weight. In contrast, oxyntomodulin decreases calorific intake, but actually increases energy expenditure, making it an ideal intervention for the obese.”

The research builds on Bloom’s earlier findings reported in the journal Diabetes in 2005, which were hailed as a major breakthrough in treating obesity.

An extract of the succulent plant, Hoodia gordonii, with the seemingly cryptic name of P57AS3 (or P57 for short) has received a lot of media attention recently because this compound acts as a potent appetite suppressant. Indeed, trials have shown that it reduces daily calorie intake by 1000 kcal. According to Alok Jha writing in The Guardian on December 3, p57 has attracted the attention of food company Unilever having already been investigated by Pfizer and Cambridge-based Phytopharm. This begs the question, why? Surely, the last thing a company that manufactures icecream and such would want to suppress anyone’s appetite…

Anyway, a paper in the journal Brain Research describes p57 as a “steroidal glycoside” with “anorectic activity in animals”. Now, these are technical terms with precise definitions for professionals. Personally, I’d be cautious of taking a product that is essentially a steroid that triggers anorexia, wouldn’t you? Then again, the side-effects of obesity can be far worse. Just remember, if you’re chasing after this purportedly natural compound on the internet, that another infamous appetite suppressant, which goes by the name of cocaine is just as “natural”.

More from the governmental Department of the Bleeding Obvious this week. Apparently, fit people, by which I mean healthier people, tend to be more fidgety than overweight people, who sit around and move little.

According to recent research, the fidgeters spend at least two hours a day on their feet. The extra energy they use amounts to about 350 kcal per day enough to be the equivalent of 30 to 40 pounds weight loss exercise a year. The researchers suggest that fidgeting might be down to a genetic predisposition and that those who don’t have this predisposition have a greater tendency to obesity. I told you it was bleeding obvious.

Reader John Sime of Zylepsis brought this latest bite to our attention. Mark Pereira of the Children’s Hospital, Boston has highlighted three risk factors for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Watching television and consuming fast food increase the risk in whites, he found, while eating breakfast reduced the risk in white and black men, but not black women. Apparently, “fast food emphasizes primordial preferences for salt and fat… this may promote overeating”. But, why should black women not benefit from breakfast in the way that white and black men do…? Very strange.