Obesity is one of the major challenges to human health worldwide; however, there are currently no effective pharmacological interventions for obesity. Recent studies have improved our understanding of energy homeostasis by identifying sophisticated neurohumoral networks which convey signals between the brain and gut in order to control food intake. The hypothalamus is a key region which possess...

Natural feeding behaviour in animals is genetically determined and is characteristic of the species. In the normal adult animal with readily available food supplies, the balance between energy intake from food and over-all energy output from the body is regulated with remarkable accuracy over long periods of time. This homeostatic regulation is controlled by the central nervous system, which mo...

The excessive appetite model of addiction is summarized. The paper begins by considering the forms of excessive appetite which a comprehensive model should account for: principally, excessive drinking, smoking, gambling, eating, sex and a diverse range of drugs including at least heroin, cocaine and cannabis. The model rests, therefore, upon a broader concept of what constitutes addiction than ...

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Patient consultations concerning weight problems are frequent but the over-all response to drug treatment is poor. There are many so-called anorexic drugs but the range of unwanted actions is even larger and often with distressing results. The costs to the National Health Service of doctors prescribing appetite-suppressant drugs exceeded E3.5 m in 1975 but there is little evidence of proportion...

Nutrition claims may help people to adopt healthier eating habits, but little is known about the potential cognitive effects of such claims on appetite sensations. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of nutrition claims and individual factors on perceived appetite sensations. According to a three ("healthy" versus "diet" (i.e., satiating) versus "hedonic") by two (restrain...

Under- and over-nutrition during gestation may influence fetal hypothalamic development resulting in individuals predisposed to adverse health effects. This study examined fetuses from obese and control ewes to determine whether dam obesity alters hypothalamic expression of fetal appetite regulatory genes. A second objective was to contrast the expression of appetite regulatory genes in ewes th...