SORLA – Controlling insulin signals and promoting obesity
SORLA is a protein that influences the balance of metabolic processes in fat tissue. An increased amount of SORLA can make cells overly sensitive to insulin, which leads them to break down less fat. A collaborative team of researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the University of Leipzig have discovered new mechanisms by which SORLA functions. By analysing the SORLA levels in 362 obese people, they found that the more SORLA you have, the more obese you are, they then established a causal link by expressing high levels of SORLA in mice, and analysing weight fluctuation patterns.
The researchers studied SORLA and found that it makes cells express more receptors for insulin, thereby making them oversensitive to it; this in turn meant that these cells would not break down fat, leading to deposits of fat in tissue. Disruptions in insulin signalling are a feature of diabetes and with this research a whole new pathway of insulin signalling has been discovered, which could lead to potential treatments of both diabetes and obesity.
Read MoreFathers have key role in developing healthy behaviours
A new study performed at the University of Guelph found that parents, and especially fathers, play a key role in developing healthy behaviours and preventing obesity in young adults. The study involved over 6,000 participants, aged between 14 and 24. The researchers noted that adolescents who grew up in stable families were more likely to have a healthy lifestyle and were less likely to be obese. Interestingly, they found that the mother-son relationship did not matter as much as the father-son relationship when it came to predicting whether the young male would be overweight or obese.
The authors are now hoping to develop strategies to help fathers support the development of health behaviours in their children, however more research is needed to explore the mechanisms by which this relationship operates, and to compare why this does not seem to be the case with the mother-daughter or mother-son relationship.
Read MoreTiming of meals as important as substance
A review on research into meal patterns has found that eating at irregular times could increase your risk of developing metabolic syndrome. With many peoples’ lives getting busier, and our lifestyle getting more irregular, when we eat has become a major problem. Two papers published in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society explore the effects that irregular meal patterns have; they have found that eating inconsistently affects the ‘circadian rhythm’ or the body clock. Many metabolic processes follow the circadian pattern, such as appetite control and metabolism of food. Other studies have shown that people who work shifts, and therefore eat at irregular times, are much more likely to develop conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome.
Eating small sized meals frequently has been a characteristic of many fad diets, however this may not be healthy, as some studies show that a greater number of meals leads to a greater risk of obesity. The authors are keen to point out that what we eat is also extremely important. Meal patterns differ globally, as well as the importance of certain meals, this could aid future studies on the effects of timings of meals on the development of disease such as metabolic syndrome. However, currently there is limited evidence on this phenomenon, and the authors are hoping that larger scale studies will be performed to further our understanding of it.
Read MoreComparing the effectiveness of weight loss drugs
A recent analysis has compared the effectiveness of the 5 weight-loss drugs that have been approved by the USA’s FDA. These drugs are: orlistat, lorcaserin, naltrexone-bupropion, phentermine-topiramate, and liraglutide. The drugs were compared against a placebo, and not against each other. The authors of this study conducted a systematic review with a meta-analysis that included 28 randomised clinical trials, which related to 29,018 patients. They also looked at the incidence of adverse events whilst patients were on these drugs.
Each drug was associated with achieving at least 5% weight-loss at 52 weeks, with phentermine-topiramate and liraglutide having the highest odds of achieving 5% weight loss. The authors highlighted that more work is necessary to discover the long-term effects of pharmacotherapy for obesity, as concerns over their safety still exist amongst clinicians. The authors go on to explain how there are no recommendations for clinicians when it comes to choosing individual drugs for patients and with differences in safety, efficacy and response to therapy, the ideal approach to weight-loss should be highly individualised, identifying appropriate candidates for pharmacotherapy, behavioural interventions and surgery.
Read MoreOverweight adolescents have increased risk of liver disease
A 40-year study of 45,000 men has shown that BMI in late adolescence predicts the development of liver disease in later life. The study was performed in Sweden and was conducted in order to improve prevention programs for liver disease, by increasing our ability to predict it. The researchers noticed that whilst there has been an increase in the global prevalence of obesity, there has also been a rise in the prevalence of liver disease. It is known that the two are linked, therefore they are hoping to reduce the impact of complications caused by obesity, by improving our understanding of how to predict them.
The study took place over 40 years and included 45,000 Swedish conscripts, of which only 1% were lost to follow-up. Overall, it was shown that there was a 64% increased risk in men who were overweight in late adolescence compared to those who were a normal weight. The researchers hypothesise that this may be due to the fact that those who developed liver disease were exposed to overweight and obesity for an increased period of time. The authors of the study are hoping to further this research in the future, by gaining an understanding of the type and magnitude of risk for liver disease that overweight carries.
Read MoreReport warns that being obese or overweight could cause 7.6 million cases of disease by 2030
According to a report by the Obesity Health Alliance in the UK, over the next 20 years there may be more than 7.6 million new cases of disease linked to overweight or obesity.
To tackle the obesity epidemic, the Obesity Health Alliance (which includes Cancer Research UK, the British Medical Association, six Royal Colleges and the Royal Society of Public Health) is calling on the Government to introduce a strong childhood obesity strategy without delay. The suggested strategy must include restricting junk food advertising on TV before the 9pm watershed, tightening online marketing to align with broadcast regulations, as well as setting targets for industry to reduce the amount of sugar and fat in food.
Cancer Research UK’s director of prevention, Alison Cox, said “these numbers are shocking. And it’s difficult to think of the impact this will have on public health and an already strained NHS. Without bold action, the next generation will face more disease and live shorter lives”.
Read MoreObesity linked to abnormal reward response to sugary food
In a study published in Diabetes, it was found that age, obesity and dopamine may influence an individual’s preference for sweet foods. It is believed that the finding may reveal a dysfunction in the brains of individuals with obesity.
The researchers studied 20 subjects with healthy weights and compared them to 24 people classified as obese (therefore with a BMI of 30 or higher). The study participants received drinks containing varying levels of sugar in order to determine their individual preference for degree of sweetness. PET scans were then conducted to identify dopamine receptors linked to rewards in each of the participants’ brains. The PET scans revealed that although there was a relationship between dopamine receptors and preference for sugary item and age in lean participants, that pattern was not the same in the brains of obese participants.
Read MoreMother’s high-fat, high-sugar diet may affect future generations
Obesity can predispose offspring in subsequent generations to metabolic problems, a recent study published by the Washington University School of Medicine has found. Kelle H Moley, professor at Washington University, said that “our data was the first to show that pregnant mouse mothers with metabolic syndrome can transmit dysfunctional mitochondria through the female bloodline to three generations”.
The team conducted the research in mice who were fed foods consisting of 60% fat and 20% sugar. The mouse offspring were later fed a controlled diet of standard rodent chow which is high in protein and low in fat and sugar. Even though the pups (grand-pups and great-grand pups) were fed a healthy diet they developed insulin resistance and metabolic problems. “Over the decades, our diets have worsened, in large part due to processed foods and fast foods. We’re seeing the effects in the current obesity crisis,” Kelle H Moley said.
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