Appetite Regulation: An Overview

Obesity is a major public health problem associated with morbidity and mortality and continues to increase worldwide. This review focuses on the regions of the brain that are important in appetite regulation and the circulating factors implicated in the control of food intake. The hypothalamus is critical in the regulation of food intake containing neural circuits, which produce a number of peptides that influence food intake. The arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus produces both orexigenic peptides (agouti-related protein and neuropeptide Y) and anorectic peptides (α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and cocaine- and amphetamine-related transcript). The lateral hypothalamus produces the orexigenic peptides (melanin-concentrating hormone and orexins). Other hypothalamic factors recently implicated in appetite regulation include the endocannabinoids, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nesfatin-1, AMP-activated protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin protein, and protein tyrosine phosphatase. Circulating factors that affect food intake mediate their effects by signaling to the hypothalamus and/or brainstem. A number of circulating factors are produced by peripheral organs, for example, leptin by adipose tissue, insulin and pancreatic polypeptide by the pancreas, gut hormones (e.g., ghrelin, obestatin, glucagon-like peptide-1, oxyntomodulin, peptide YY), and triiodothyronine by the thyroid gland. Circulating carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids also affect appetite regulation. Knowledge regarding appetite regulation has vastly expanded in recent years providing targets for antiobesity drug design.