Body Weight and Set Point

Biochemistry and set point. How peptides control appetite, thermogenesis, and body weight.

Contents

Page 1
Nutrient balance hypothesis.
Page 2
Regulations hurt obese people.

As I see it, regulatory edicts that appetite suppressants/thermogenics should only be used for a short time as an adjunct to dieting are illogical and contradict the reality of obesity. Such thinking is the equivalent of telling an insulin-dependent diabetic to just tough it out. Obesity scientists are frustrated by regulatory edicts that castrate the potential of obesity medications. George Bray has been quite candid about this:

"Current regulations appear to bear little relation to the realities associated with these medications . . . Conceptually, all forms of experimental obesity can now be treated by drugs. Only more research and an improved regulatory environment will bring their potential value to the public" (2-NA).

I don't know where you got the idea that I felt that "thermogenesis is being neglected in biomedical research." It's true that many doctors either do not know or do not tell their obese patients about the importance of thermogenesis -- however -- biomedical RESEARCHERS are acutely aware of its importance. In fact, thermogenesis is one the hottest areas of obesity research (pun intended).

In fact, in 1992 research scientists from all over the world organized an international symposium urging the medical community to use ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin in the treatment of obesity (3-NA). Anyone can go to a medical library and read the full-text of this symposium that was printed as a supplement to the Feb. 1993 (Vol 17) issue of the prestigious International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. Here is a quote from the symposiums editorial:

Written
Mar 1998
Last Update
Mar 1998

"Given this long history, one might well wonder why it was felt important to organize an international symposium on ephedrine in 1992. One's credibility might be tested even further on learning that two other "common-or-garden" drugs (caffeine and aspirin) also featured highly in the symposium . . . We hope that this symposium will help convince a much larger number of people that this is still a viable approach, and that large clinical trials with ephedrine, or combinations of ephedrine with other common, established drugs are both necessary and ethically justified" (3-NA).

While concerned scientists are organizing international symposiums and stating that using ECA to treat obesity is "both necessary and ethically justified" (3-NA), regulatory agencies are saying that ephedrine is so dangerous that it should be taken off the market. While researchers are saying that ECA is "very similar to the ideal pharmacological treatment" (4-NA), the government is telling obese people that ephedrine-based thermogenic supplements are NOT effective for weight loss. Thermogenesis is not being neglected by researchers, ephedrine is being LIED about by regulators and politicians who don't want people self-medicating or using drugs recreationally. I suspect many doctors are afraid to go against the official party line.

I agree that new information moves through the medical profession at a "glacial pace." This is especially true with stigmatized conditions like obesity. But, far more important than rapid dissemination of the very latest obscure findings is USING what we already know to be safe and effective regardless of politics or the lack of huge prescription profits. The discovery of new facts will never cease but as we race toward that brighter future the current generation of obese people should not be treated as road kill.

set point, body weight, thermogenesis

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References

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1.) Bray GA "The nutrient balance hypothesis: peptides, sympathetic activity, and food intake." Ann N Y Acad Sci (1993 Mar) Vol 676, Pg 223-41, PMID: 0008489134.

2-NA.) Bray GA "Barriers to the treatment of obesity" Ann Intern Med 1991, Vol 115 (2), Pg 152-3. PMID: 0001760006.

3-NA.) Dulloo AG and Stock MJ "Ephedrine in the treatment of obesity" Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1993, Vol 17 Suppl 1 Pg S1-2. PMID: 0008384172.

4-NA.) Pasquali, R. and Casimirri, F. "Clinical aspects of ephedrine in the treatment of obesity." Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 Feb; 17 Suppl 1:S65-8, PMID: 0008384185.