Obesity is a condition that is characterized by the excessive accumulation of body fat. It is a complex health problem that occurs throughout the world and is caused by a multitude of factors, such as genetic predisposition and environmental factors (Campfield et al. 1996). Evidence from the scientific community strongly suggests that one factor that plays a key role in human obesity is leptin (Campfield et al. 1996).
Leptin (OB protein) is a peptide hormone that serves as a communication link between the brain and the fat tissue (Strosberg and Issad 1999; Campfield et al. 1996). It is secreted by the adipose tissue, circulates in the blood and then acts on the central nervous system, a system that regulates most functions of the body, including energy balance and feeding behaviours (Campfield et al. 1996). Leptin and its receptors are both important in the regulation of body weight through coordinated regulation of a person’s feeding behaviours, autonomic nervous system, body energy balance, and metabolism
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Cytokine signaling-3 is an intracellular protein that suppresses the actions of many different cytokine receptors. It can limit leptin signaling and is potentially one of the causes of leptin resistance (Coll et al. 2007). In a study conducted, it was observed that obese subjects who lost weight had decreased concentrations of leptin that would rise slightly once their lowered weight was maintained, suggesting that leptin tracks body fat during weight gain as well as weight loss (Campfield et al. 1996). This also suggests that in the presence of extended exposure to low leptin concentrations, the leptin pathway can be reset and allow for more sensitivity to leptin (Campfield et al.
Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate (Barness et al, 2007). For thousands of years obesity was rarely seen, it was not until the 20th century that it became common, some much so that in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally recognized obesity as a global epidemic (Caballero, 2007).
Genetic research of obesity was partly successful in establishing obesity in model organisms – rodents where obesity occurs spontaneously together with other pathological aspects (insulin resistance, …). The main cause of monogenic obesity in these model organisms are common mutations always present in only one gene. Results of research on model organisms allowed us to understand biological mechanisms of calorie intake and regulation and maintenance of body weight. The most important insight into obesity was achieved in 1994 after discovery of ob gene encoding for leptin. In two years period, using screening method, candidate homologous genes, selected on genetic study basis on mice, another five genes were identified. Mutations on these genes were found to be the cause of autosomal recessive or dominant monogenic obesity. Products of these genes are leptin and its receptor, proopiomelanocortin (POMC) melanocortin receptor 4 (MC4R) and
Even despite electric shocks, they continued to eat until they became obese. When the researchers switched the obese rats’ diet to a healthy one, the rats refused to eat for almost two weeks. The rats that ate the fast food stopped responding to Leptin, a hormone that regulates hunger. As the rats became more obese, the amount of Leptin in their bodies indicated that the rats were on the brink of starvation; however, the rats continued to eat and become even more obese (Greviskes, 2013).
In wild type mouse there is no effect on food intake, body weight and blood glucose though we give more leptin because here the leptin receptors are constant. But, in ob/ob mouse the food intake, body weight and blood glucose levels are decrease because the presence of leptin receptor. However, in the db/db mouse there is no effect due to the absence of the leptin
Although the mechanism of obesity development is not fully understood, it is confirmed that obesity occurs when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure. There are multiple etiologies for this imbalance, hence, and the rising prevalence of obesity cannot be addressed by a single etiology (Dehghan et al., 2005, p.
Because serum leptin levels were positively correlated with body weight, BMI and fat mass, we can reason that higher serum leptin levels are associated with an increased biochemical desire to consume food. Although leptin levels were positively correlated with wrist width, one can reason that this is a result of the adolescents flesh being more abundant, and not the bone size itself. There are many factors that contributed to the hunger levels, weights and bone sizes of the swimmers and their classmates (the controls). Based on the amount of exercise that the swimmers participated in, they are shown to have the most regulated levels of leptin and healthier, less fat weights. This study shows just one of the many positive benefits of regular cardiovascular exercise: hunger regulation and proper energy balance of input vs output. The swimmers may or may not have been hungrier than their classmates but because they were using more energy in the pool, they have regulated levels of food consumption desire. Their bodies were under the regular impression of receiving a certain amount of food and releasing a certain amount of exercise during swim practice. The classmates (controls) that did not regularly exercise, or exercised less than 45-minutes a day, had higher levels of leptin which is a possible factor that lead them to eat more since they had higher fat mass and higher BMI (Body Mass Index). When the body does not regularly expend the energy it takes in, fat is stored at a
Obesity is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as unusual or extreme fat growth that presents a risk to a person’s health. Obesity is a complex disease with multiple drivers such as
The hormone Leptin containing a malfunction is one of the causes for Monogenic Obesity, among many others. Leptin is a hormone that helps regulate body fat and also helps in parts of the brain that controls hunger and tells the body when it’s full. When the Leptin hormone is shortened or absent the body doesn’t secrete fat, but rather stores it making a person become obese. In 1997, two Pakistani cousins were reported with extreme obesity, “Both children had undetectable levels of serum leptin and were found to be homozygous for a frameshift mutation in the LEP gene (ΔG133), which resulted in a truncated protein that was not secreted.” (endocrine.org) In other words, the children contained two types of the same gene whether it be dominant or recessive that were either inserted or deleted causing the levels of the Leptin hormone to be shortened. After the findings of the two Pakistani cousins, there have been five more cases reported with children that lack the leptin hormone, which are all of Pakistani descent, but not related to each other. There has only been one case reported that was found in an Algerian family of three siblings in which the leptin receptor was found abnormal were one was joined to the other allowing a mutated one to work causing there to be more Leptin hormones than there needed to
Although many individuals are uncertain about the increasing statistics associated with obesity, more than seventy percent of men and virtually sixty-two percent of women within the United States adult population are overweight or obese (Wilmore, Costill, & Kenney). Obesity refers to the condition of having an excessive amount of body fat. If an individual’s amount of body fat becomes too excessive, he/she is at a much greater risk of developing life-altering diseases such as heart failure, hypertension, type II diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, etc. (Wilmore, et al., 2008).
Obesity is defined as the excessive build-up of body fat that has major detrimental effects on an individual’s health (Caballero, 2007). The major cause of this excess accumulation of body fat is due to a positive energy balance i.e. when the input of energy into the body system exceeds the output of energy which in turn facilitates in weight gain (Caballero, 2007). Obesity is a major health issue in modern day society, firstly because it affects approximately 300 million people worldwide (Weight Management Centre and secondly, drastic alteration in the body’s fat intake also leads to the increasing prevalence of other major health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, non-insulin dependent diabetes and hypertension (WMC, 2010).
The main trigger of AD is leptin, which is a hormone that signals to our brains the amount of fat that our body has to deal with. Thus the brain can adapt to eating to save fat reserves at a certain level and the more fat we have, the higher the level of leptin. At first, scientists thought that leptin might be used to deal with obesity, but soon they found that the majority of obese people are immune to the effects. People with large amounts of leptin had a bigger cerebral brain volume and a reducedfrequencyof mental illness and AD (Small, G. 2009).
The protein found in the second strand of DNA was leptin. Leptin is a protein that is stored in the brain and regulates ones hunger (The Facts on Leptin: FAQ ). The disease that leptin can cause is obesity . Leptin is produced in fat cells, therefore the more you eat, the more leptin you have, and the less you eat, the less leptin you have. When one stops eating it causes the leptin levels in the body to decrease and the brain begins to sense starvation (The Facts on Leptin: FAQ). When leptin levels are not high enough the body has a hard time burning energy and functioning correctly. In some cases, one’s body cannot regulate there leptin levels and their body cannot control when they are and are not hungry. If the body can’t control leptin
A person is more likely to develop obesity if one or both parents are obese. Genetics also affect hormones involved in fat regulation. For example, one genetic cause of obesity is leptin deficiency. Leptin is a hormone produced in fat cells and also in the placenta. Leptin controls weight by signaling the brain to eat less when body fat stores are too high. If, for some reason, the body cannot produce enough leptin or leptin cannot signal the brain to eat less, this control is lost, and obesity occurs. The role of leptin replacement as a treatment for obesity is currently being
It was merely a decade ago that the obesity epidemic was thought to only be a minor problem and had only alarmed a small number of endocrinologists interested by the size of the situation (James, 2008). However today, the problem of obesity is vast with more awareness of its presence by doctors and individuals alike. In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states, “More than one-third (34.9% or 78.6 million) of U.S. adults are obese (CDC, 2014)”. These numbers are outrageous and eye opening, leaving millions looking for a solution to this troubling epidemic. Obesity is not simply a cosmetic flaw as some might think, but is actually a very dangerous state of being for any individual to sustain long-term. Mentioned further in
Based on mammalian studies, NPY stimulates adipocyte proliferation and differentiation [6]. Our group also reported that NPY promotes adipogenesis during the early and later stages of chicken preadipocyte differentiation [9, 15]. NPY exerts its functions by binding to a variety of NPY receptors (NPYRs), with the most well-known ones associated with appetite and adipose physiology being NPYR1, NPYR2 and