According to the CDC, more than one third of adults in the United States are obese. That means the annual cost of obesity in the U.S. is about 147 billion dollars (recorded in 2008). Obesity can lead to problems such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and, neurodegenerative diseases. Obesity has always been a concern for Americans, yet those obese have an alarmingly difficult time slimming down. I’ve often caught myself thinking this is due to little motivation; however, after reading the article Is Obesity a Brain Disease? there is a lot more to it than just not being motivated to lose weight.
Having a high fat diet (HFD) can lead to problems such as lipid peroxidation, elevated proinflammatory cytokine levels, inhibited leptin activity and more. All of these occur in the cell and can lead to even more problems, and yet another major problem with these adverse effects from a HFD is that it leads to less BDNF within the cell. BDNF is an important growth factor that helps with cognitive functioning, synaptic plasticity, and cell growth and differentiation. Low levels of BDNF can lead to cognitive decline that can be detrimental to a person’s health. But the real problem is that once these problems start it is extremely difficult to correct.
There are two important neurons that help our bodies know when it needs to eat and when it is full. They are proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons and agouti-related peptide (AGRP) neurons. POMC neurons release POMC when glucose levels are high and decrease appetite. These neurons are activated by insulin and leptin; thus when insulin and leptin levels are altered and not balanced POMC neurons cannot be activated and the decrease in leptin and insulin leads to the activation of the AGRP neurons. The AGRP neurons are responsible for telling the body that it needs to eat more. In order to balance these neurons the body needs a balance of leptin and insulin, but since these neurons are not the only things affected by obesity it is hard to keep this maintained.
High fat diets also lead to an increase in cytokines that are proinflammatory. Inflammation in the brain can lead to oxidative stress within the cell, which can lead to ER stress and can eventually lead to apoptosis. Proinflammatory cytokines can also lead to down-regulation of insulin secretion which can lead to decrease activation of POMC neurons along with decreasing the benefits of insulin throughout the rest of the body.
The dangers of a HFD are that just reducing proinflammatory cytokines is not good enough. There is a vicious cycle between ER stress, oxidative stress, and inflammation where each one causes the other. So how do we battle these problems? Although it may take longer than a quick fix such as liposuction or weight loss pills, exercise and healthy eating is the best way. Exercise helps with brain health and production of proteins that help fight against and clear up things like cytokines and oxidative stress. Healthy eating helps with regulating food intake and making sure that you are getting the right nutrients that will fill you up quicker with less food eaten. Although it’s simpler to just pop a pill and move on, the harder choice is the healthier choice!
Breaking the Circle of Obesity
