Gastric GDF15 levels are regulated by age, sex, and nutritional status in rodents and humans.

Aim: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a stress response cytokine that has been proposed as a relevant metabolic hormone. Descriptive studies have shown that plasma GDF15 levels are regulated by short term changes in nutritional status, such as fasting, or in obesity. However, few data exist regarding how GDF15 levels are regulated in peripheral tissues.

Prolonged breastfeeding protects from obesity by hypothalamic action of hepatic FGF21.

Early-life determinants are thought to be a major factor in the rapid increase of obesity. However, while maternal nutrition has been extensively studied, the effects of breastfeeding by the infant on the reprogramming of energy balance in childhood and throughout adulthood remain largely unknown. Here we show that delayed weaning in rat pups protects them against diet-induced obesity in adulthood, through enhanced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and energy expenditure.

Circulating LEAP-2 is associated with puberty in girls.

Background/objectives: Liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP-2) was recently identified as an endogenous non-competitive allosteric antagonist of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR1a). LEAP-2 blunts ghrelin-induced feeding and its plasma levels are modulated in response to nutritional status in humans. Despite the relevant role of ghrelin in childhood, puberty, and childhood obesity, the potential implication of LEAP-2 in these aspects remains totally unknown.

[Evaluation of food habits and physical activity in Galician students].

Introduction: obesity causes millions of deaths each year. Its high prevalence in children and adolescents from southern European countries, including Spain, is associated with the new food preferences and decreased physical activity. Objective: to evaluate diet quality and physical activity in Galician schoolchildren in order to assess if modifying the current intervention strategies in lifestyles is required.

Hypothalamic dopamine signaling regulates brown fat thermogenesis.

Dopamine signaling is a crucial part of the brain reward system and can affect feeding behavior. Dopamine receptors are also expressed in the hypothalamus, which is known to control energy metabolism in peripheral tissues. Here we show that pharmacological or chemogenetic stimulation of dopamine receptor 2 (D2R) expressing cells in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) and the zona incerta (ZI) decreases body weight and stimulates brown fat activity in rodents in a feeding-independent manner.