Addicted to food?
Dr Mohammed Hankir, a neuroscientist at the University of Leipzig, Germany, says, “It’s becoming increasingly clear that when we consume certain types of food, particularly those high in fat and sugar, the same brain circuits are engaged as when taking drugs of abuse. We may therefore have little choice about overeating and becoming obese.â€
If the diabesity epidemic is the result of our brains being hard-wired to consume energy rich food, can we cure diabesity with pharmacological manipulation of these brain pathways?
Bowels control the brain
Professor Sir Stephen Bloom, Head of Division for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Imperial College London, thinks we can, and says, “Gut hormones are chemical messengers secreted by the digestive system that affect our brain and control appetite. Hijacking this natural messenger system is an attractive and likely option for treating diabesityâ€. The GLP-1 hormone is widely used for the treatment of diabetes. It also leads to weight loss. There are other such gut hormones that need further evaluation because they could provide attractive solutions for obesity.
Takeaways
The food-gut-brain relationship promises a much-needed solution for the diabesity epidemic. Whilst the search continues, we must act now to prevent this. Most healthcare systems are organized to treat the acute symptoms of diabesity, and manage the condition once it’s been diagnosed. Healthcare systems are less adept at prevention, and early detection. This requires effective education, which is currently not available.
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