There are individuals who feel hungry more often compared to others. And research studies reveal that hunger is actually being activated by certain brain receptors. A group of researchers from the Georgia State University came up with the study which stated that blocking the food receptor known as gremlin can decrease appetite.
As per Web Md, Ghrelin plays an important role in increasing one's appetite. It plays a vital role in an individual's body weight. While leptin on the other hand is the appetite suppressor wherein an individual with low leptin is thinner and higher levels of leptin are exhibited by overweight individuals.
As per Mary Dallman, PhD, from the University of California who is an obesity expert, most obese individuals already "built up a resistance to the appetite supressing effects of leptin"
Their findings which was published in The American Journal of Physiology -- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. The group was able to come up with useful ways in treating obesity, which has been a major health threat all throughout the years.
Lead author and a graduate student in biology at Georgia State, Michael A. Thomas stated that:
"We've shown for the first time that blocking ghrelin receptors in the brain prevents an increase in both short-term and long-term food foraging, food hoarding and food intake following an injection of ghrelin in peripheral areas of the body,"
Corresponding author and senior research scientist in the Department of Biology and Center for Obesity Reversal at Georgia State, Vitaly Ryu then added that:
"Understanding the complex relationship between central and peripheral satiety signals is an important step in the development of clinically useful obesity treatment options."
By taking a deeper look into these hormones, scientist would be able to find an effective cure to obesity. Several studies on reducing ghrelin to control appetite have already been conducted.
