After decades of achieving little long-term success with medications, Belgian scientists have come up with a new strategy to fight obesity. They're targeting food sensors in the stomach.
Researchers from the Catholic University of Leuven have reported that the digestive tract "tastes" what a person eats. It uses signaling devices similar to those found in the tongue to detect bitter, sweet, fat, and savory taste, according to Medical News Today.
Thanks to these mechanisms, the gut release hormones that control blood sugar levels and feelings of being satisfied once food reaches the stomach. A malfunction in the sensors could have a role in developing obesity-associated illnesses.
The Mayo Clinic offers a simple definition of obesity: having an excessive amount of body fat. This boosts the risk of developing a number of adverse health conditions, among them heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
A diagnosis of obesity is the result of calculating body mass index (BMI), which considers weight and height. Individuals with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. A range of 18.5 to 24.9 is normal. Overweight patients score between 25.0 and 29.9, while a BMI of 30.0 or more signals obesity. The extremely obese score at least 40.0. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute posts a free BMI calculator on its site.
More than 35 percent of U.S. adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical costs linked to the condition cost a whopping $147 billion in 2008. In 2011, a dozen states had obesity prevalence rates of at least 30 percent: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
The Belgian researchers reported that an increasing amount of data suggests that obesity and related conditions could be treated or even prevented by targeting taste receptors on gut cells. Causing them to release hormones that make the patient feel full would mirror the effects of eating.
They also suggested that successful bariatric surgeries might somehow be related to a release of hormones in the digestive tract. However, they stress that more studies are necessary to determine which receptors in the gut should be targeted.
I come from a family of obese people. I've tried dozens of times to reach a BMI of less than 25. The longest I succeeded was six months. I am constantly plagued by feelings of hunger, not just appetite. I am not sufficiently overweight to consider surgery, and due to food restrictions linked to Crohn's disease, many so-called healthy snacks like fresh fruits and vegetables are off limits.
I remain in an orbit of being overweight and sometimes obese. Given the lack of success of current medications for obesity and the Crohn's restrictions I have, fooling the body into sensing satiety to fight obesity could provide a valuable treatment.
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Researchers from the Catholic University of Leuven have reported that the digestive tract "tastes" what a person eats. It uses signaling devices similar to those found in the tongue to detect bitter, sweet, fat, and savory taste, according to Medical News Today.
Thanks to these mechanisms, the gut release hormones that control blood sugar levels and feelings of being satisfied once food reaches the stomach. A malfunction in the sensors could have a role in developing obesity-associated illnesses.
The Mayo Clinic offers a simple definition of obesity: having an excessive amount of body fat. This boosts the risk of developing a number of adverse health conditions, among them heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
A diagnosis of obesity is the result of calculating body mass index (BMI), which considers weight and height. Individuals with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. A range of 18.5 to 24.9 is normal. Overweight patients score between 25.0 and 29.9, while a BMI of 30.0 or more signals obesity. The extremely obese score at least 40.0. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute posts a free BMI calculator on its site.
More than 35 percent of U.S. adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medical costs linked to the condition cost a whopping $147 billion in 2008. In 2011, a dozen states had obesity prevalence rates of at least 30 percent: Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
The Belgian researchers reported that an increasing amount of data suggests that obesity and related conditions could be treated or even prevented by targeting taste receptors on gut cells. Causing them to release hormones that make the patient feel full would mirror the effects of eating.
They also suggested that successful bariatric surgeries might somehow be related to a release of hormones in the digestive tract. However, they stress that more studies are necessary to determine which receptors in the gut should be targeted.
I come from a family of obese people. I've tried dozens of times to reach a BMI of less than 25. The longest I succeeded was six months. I am constantly plagued by feelings of hunger, not just appetite. I am not sufficiently overweight to consider surgery, and due to food restrictions linked to Crohn's disease, many so-called healthy snacks like fresh fruits and vegetables are off limits.
I remain in an orbit of being overweight and sometimes obese. Given the lack of success of current medications for obesity and the Crohn's restrictions I have, fooling the body into sensing satiety to fight obesity could provide a valuable treatment.
