Adiposity and the Gut - The Role of Gut Hormones

The WHO has declared that obesity is one of the top five risk conditions in the world. Body adiposity occurs as a consequence of an imbalance between food intake and energy expenditure. The hypothalamus integrates complex neural and humoral signals that coordinate the initiation and termination of feeding and regulates energy expenditure. In the last decade there has been considerable interest in the role of gut hormones in governing hunger and satiety signals in the brain. Ghrelin, a small peptide synthesized in the stomach, stimulates food intake while peptide YY (PYY), oxyntomodulin (OXM), glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CCK) and pancreatic polypeptide (PP) inhibit appetite. To date, pharmacological approaches used to alter gut hormones administration may provide physiological and therapeutic solutions for appetite control and long-term anti-obesity therapy. Here we review the recent advances in this field.