| Theme | Obesity and Digestive Organ | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Mechanism of Obesity Development | |
| Publish Date | 2019/04 | |
| Author | Noriko Satoh‒Asahara | Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Hypertension, National Hospital Organization, Kyoto Medical Center |
| [ Summary ] | Obesity is defined by the balance between food intake and energy expenditure and is caused by an excess of energy intake compared to energy consumption. Normally, leptin, one of the representative adipocytokines secreted by adipocytes, acts on the hypothalamus and exerts an inhibitory action on food intake and activates sympathetic nervous activity; thus, body weight is controlled. However, in obese subjects, leptin resistance occurs. The abnormal secretion of adipocytokines induced by visceral obesity causes various complications. In the age of plentiful food, it is thought that obesity and diabetes are liable to be caused by mutations of genes, kno wn as thrifty genes. In recent years, large‒scale genome-wide association study research has identified the genetic predisposition of obesity, and for obesity in the Japanese population, and could lead to the use of personalized medicine in the future. |
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