The importance of selected intestinal hormones in the regulation of food intake and perspectives of their use in the treatment of obesity
Abstract
Obesity currently represents one of the most important global health problems. According to the World health organization's prediction the number of obese patients in the adult population will increase to 700 million by 2015.
The reasons of constantly increasing prevalence of obesity include a combination of genetic predisposition, the predominance of energy intake over energy expenditure due to easy availability of calorie-rich meals and permanently decreasing energy expenditure from physical activity. Understanding the precise mechanisms of food intake regulation is essential for development of body weight-reducing drugs with long-term effects.
The central nervous system plays the main role in the regulation of food intake. This system is infl uenced by a number of long-acting and short-acting peripheral signals informing about the degree of saturation, the amount of energy reserves and the overall state of energy homeostasis.
Hormones produced in the gastrointestinal tract play an important role in the regulation of food intake. The aim of this article is to summarize the significance of selected gut hormones in the regulation of food intake and to discuss their possible use in the treatment of obesity and its associated comorbidities.