Normally, when your body’s gastrointestinal system senses that you’ve consumed enough calories, it releases hormones to the brain, signaling a feeling of fullness and naturally preventing you from overeating. One of these gut hormones (also known as incretin hormones) is called uroguanylin. In 2016, researchers conducting a study on mice found that overeating can actually cause the body to stop producing uroguanylin, and that this biochemical malfunction can lead to higher calorie intake. The researchers found that the endoplasmic reticulum in the small intestine, which helps produce many of the body's proteins and hormones, can stop functioning when it is stressed. And it can become stressed by overeating, creating a vicious cycle of further unregulated calorie intake.
A big problem around the world:
- Obesity increases the likelihood of a host of diseases, primarily heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
- Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility.
- In 2014, 600 million adults (13 percent of the world’s population) and 42 million children under the age of 5 were considered obese.