Appetite Peptides

Obesity in humans is a metabolic condition that is characterised by an excess of body fat to the extent that it has a detrimental effect on health.  It results from a combination of low energy expenditure and high caloric intake although numerous susceptibility genes have been identified, also psychiatric illnesses can be associated with obesity, as are some genetic syndromes.
Appetite control originates from the hypothalamus where an appetite stimulatory and an appetite inhibitory circuit oppose each other, each influenced by peripheral hormones that provide feedback on energy intake and expenditure.  Orexigenic neurotransmitters promote appetite while anorexigenic neurotransmitters decrease it.  Orexigenic peptides include neuropeptide Y, Agouti related peptide, melanin-concentrating hormone, orexin, galanin, ghrelin  and opioid peptides, anorexigenic peptides include alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, cocaine and amphetamine-related transcript (CART), neurotensin, leptin, insulin, peptide YY (3-36), pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide-1, oxyntomodulin, amylin, cholecystokinin and bombesin.

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