Khaberni - A team of researchers in the United States has found that a chemical compound that forms in the body during exercise suppresses the feeling of hunger in the brain.
The researchers from a group of American universities and research institutions, including Stanford University Medical School and the Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute in Texas, found that the chemical compound "Lac Phe," which is secreted by the body during exercise, suppresses hunger by affecting neuronal cells in the brain. They confirmed that this discovery could help devise new treatments for obesity and overweight issues.
During the study published in the scientific journal Nature Metabolism, which specializes in metabolic diseases, the researchers conducting a series of tests on lab mice found that physical effort reduces appetite in mice and aids in weight loss.
Researcher Yang He, an assistant professor specializing in neurological diseases at the Dan Duncan Research Institute, says, "Regularly engaging in exercise is an effective way to lose weight and prevent obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease," adding in remarks to the "SciTech Daily" website that "exercise helps in weight loss by increasing the amount of energy the body consumes, but there are likely other mechanisms that also assist in this process."
Yang elaborated: "We investigated how the brain regulates appetite and feeding behaviors and found that the compound Lac Phe plays a significant role in aiding those who need to lose weight."
The researchers found that this chemical compound directly affects AgRP-type neuronal cells located in the hypothalamic region of the brain, which are responsible for activating the feeling of hunger, and reduces their activity, thus allowing the activation of another type of neuronal cells that provide a feeling of fullness and are called PVH cells.
Although this study focused on mice, the results are promising for humans, although further research is needed to better understand the role of the Lac Phe compound in various metabolic problems such as obesity or thinness, and to understand how the brain deals with the feeling of hunger, so that these findings can be used for therapeutic purposes in the future.
