Research into Hunger Related Hormones and Peptides Can Be Beneficial

As experts learn more about the pathophysiology of obesity, they are able to identify hormones and peptides that play major roles in weight loss and weight gain. There are certain hormones and peptides that are known to increase hunger, possibly leading to weight gain. And there are hormones and peptides that are known to decrease hunger, possibly leading to weight loss. But there is some question as to how these hormones and peptides function during weight maintenance.

Hormones or peptides that decrease hunger include leptin, peptide YY (PYY), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Hormones or peptides that increase hunger include ghrelin and neuropeptide Y (NPY).  And it makes sense to assume that if there is an increase in hunger inducing hormones or peptides, that increase might boost the desire to eat, leading to weight gain. And if there is an increase in the hunger reducing hormones or peptides, that increase will lessen the desire to eat, thus causing weight loss.

So, research is being done to determine if increasing the number of hunger reducing hormones or peptides will lead to weight loss. For example, leptin, a hormone that is thought to be hunger reducing, was injected into obese subjects. But it was found that injecting leptin into obese patients did not lead to weight loss. However, injecting liraglutide, an analog of the hunger reducing peptide GLP-1, has led to weight loss. Indeed, the FDA recently approved liraglutide (trade name Saxenda) for obesity treatment.

While injecting the GLP-1 analog can lead to weight loss, how do GLP-1 and other peptides and hormones function during weight maintenance? A new study is shedding light on this question. The study shows how GLP-1 and PYY, both hunger reducing peptides, can work to help a person successfully maintain weight loss.

In the study, 20 obese patients in good health lost 13% of their weight by following a low calorie diet. After losing the weight, the patients were put on a 52 week maintenance program.  The patients maintained their weight loss. And the researchers concluded that "GLP-1 and PYY increased one year after weight maintenance" for successful weight loss maintainers.

So, we now have some idea of how some peptides function during weight maintenance. And we now know that research into hormones and peptides that influence weight loss and weight gain can produce valuable information. This information can be the forerunner of effective and safe therapies for weight loss and weight maintenance.

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