HORMONES TO PREVENT OBESITY

Report #6679 1/5/96

Scientists have recently reported exciting new breakthroughs that may eventually help to treat obesity, but it will be a very long time before we have a pill that prevents it.

The two buzz words in fat research are leptin and GLP-1. When fat cells fill with fat, they release a hormone called leptin that travels in the bloodstream to your brain and attaches to leptin receptors which cause your brain to produce GLP-1 which makes you feel full and stops you from eating. Right now, the leading theory is that the fat cells of most obese people probably produce enough leptin, but leptin may not be able to attach properly to the leptin receptors in a fat person's brain, so the brain does not produce GLP-1. So, the most furious research now is trying to make a pill that contains GLP-1 that will stop obese people from eating too much.

Obesity shortens your life by causing cancer, heart attacks, and diabetes. If you are overweight, don't expect the recent research to help you right away because it will take a minimum of five years to make such a pill and test it for safety and effectiveness. Instead, use the available methods to make low fat, high-fiber food taste good. Learn how to dice fruits in with your vegetables, add flavored liquids and use spice combinations. Many obese people may also have to take the prescription drugs called phen-fen to suppress their appetites.

By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News