AI Article Synopsis
- Over 1 billion people are overweight and over 300 million are obese, primarily due to energy imbalance from eating more than the body uses.
- This review focuses on the hypothalamus's role in regulating appetite by integrating signals from the body related to fat storage and food intake.
- Key pathways include orexigenic neurons (which stimulate hunger) like NPY/AgRP and anorexigenic neurons (which suppress hunger) like POMC/CART, which interact with various brain regions to control eating behavior and energy use.
Article Abstract
Current estimates suggest that over 1 billion people are overweight and over 300 million people are obese. Weight gain is due to an imbalance between energy expenditure and dietary intake. This review discusses the hypothalamic control of appetite and highlights key developments in research that have furthered our understanding of the complex pathways involved. Nuclei within the hypothalamus integrate peripheral signals such as adiposity and caloric intake to regulate important pathways within the central nervous system controlling food intake and energy expenditure. Firmly established pathways involve the orexigenic NPY/AgRP and the anorexigenic POMC/CART neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus. These project from the ARC to other important hypothalamic nuclei, including the paraventricular, dorsomedial, ventromedial and lateral hypothalamic nuclei. In addition there are many projections to and from the brainstem, cortical areas and reward pathways, which modulate food intake.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0004-27302009000200002 | DOI Listing |
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