Study No satiety in your favorite food

Hormone prevents satiety in favorite foods

04/05/2012

Everybody has their favorite food and most of the time, it's still a bit in the air, even if you're already full. The reason was investigated by Italian scientists from the University of Naples and found that the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin and the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-glycerine play an essential role here.

The concentration of the starvation hormone ghrelin and the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol in the blood increases with the sight and consumption of favorite food, such as spaghetti, pizza or Schnitzel. As a result, those affected feel hungry, even if their body does not suffer from lack of energy, researchers said Palmiero Monteleone from the University in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism".

The phenomenon of hedonistic hunger - food without reason?
The phenomenon of the so-called hedonistic hunger - food, which does not serve the calorie needs, but only the pleasure feeling - has long been known, but so far the biochemical basis of this seemingly irrational behavior remained unclear. The Italian researchers wondered why people can literally overeat themselves with their favorite foods without having a cut throat, as with most animals. From the point of view of evolution, the food that does not serve to cover a lack of energy, but only due to the taste characteristics is rewarding, difficult to explain. Which mechanism from the survival drive hunger can become a drive for chivalrous filling, remained a mystery so far.

Release of the hunger hormone increases when eating your favorite food
In a small study with eight healthy, healthy participants at the age of 21, the Italian researchers served their favorite foods in a first trial phase and then checked their effect on the composition of the blood plasma. In a second trial phase, the subjects were given a less popular meal that matched the first dish in terms of their nutritional content. Again, the blood plasma was examined before and after the meal. The researchers found that "eating food for pleasure is accompanied by an increased peripheral level of the peptide ghrelin and the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol". This positive "correlation between plasma 2-arachidonoylglycerol and ghrelin" was discovered only at the consumption of favorite foods and was in the second experimental phase in any of the subjects to prove Monteleone and colleagues.

New approaches to fight obesity?
The researchers see the increase in ghrelin and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol concentration in the blood after eating favorite food as the reason for the hedonistic hunger. The satiety is turned off and those affected tend to overeat. Here, "a peripheral activation of two endogenous chemical signals was observed", which could possibly play a role in the fight against obesity in the future, the scientists said. Around half a billion people around the world suffer from obesity or obesity. In most cases, too high a calorie intake in combination with lack of exercise is the cause of weight problems. By eliminating the starvation hormone ghrelin or suppressing the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol, it may be possible to reduce the appetite for tasty foods that avoid gluttony and thus significantly reduce calorie intake. However, the results of Palmiero Monteleone and colleagues have yet to be confirmed in further investigations, since the small number of study participants does not allow generally valid statements. (Fp)

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