It seems that American society is constantly on the lookout for the next miracle diet drug or weight loss pill. After certain ideas go awry due to ineffectiveness, side effects, or costliness, the American people are left waiting for the next thing to try. After reading about endocannabinoids in Neurochemistry class this week, it left me thinking – is this system the next target for dieting and weight loss?
For centuries, it has been known that smoking cannabis leads to appetite stimulation. It was just recently, within the last ten years, that the endocannabinoid system and its role in appetite was discovered. Endocannabinoids are natural chemicals within the brain that act on the same receptors that drugs like cannabis do. The receptor involved in appetite stimulation is called the CB1 receptor. When endocannabinoid concentrations are high in the hypothalamus and/or the nucleus accumbens regions of the brain, CB1 receptors are activated more often, increasing appetite. For a better idea of how this mechanism plays out, see the figure below depicting how an overactive endocannabinoid system can lead to obesity and weight gain.
Endocannabinoid antagonists have been introduced recently in hopes of combatting an overactive endocannabinoid system and subsequent weight gain. An antagonist is a drug that binds to the CB1 receptors that endocannabinoids use in order to block them and dampen the effect of activated receptors. These antagonists have been used primarily in the treatment of obesity to curb appetite. They work to bring the endocannabinoid system back to homeostasis because diets high in fat are known to increase endocannabinoid concentration in the brain, leading to an imbalance in these molecules.
For example, after eating a meal high in fat, instead of lowering endocannabinoid levels in the brain, the meal actually increases the levels, making appetite stronger and the urge to continue eating higher. These responses in the brain stimulate a positive feedback loop slowly escalating into a person eating not just a handful of French fries, but the whole bag. It is this type of behavior that is habit forming, not only because French fries taste delicious, but also because the endocannabinoid system in the brain is continually being pushed out of balance. Endocannabinoid antagonists are useful in stopping this cycle when treating obesity, but what if they were available for anyone looking to shed a few pounds?
As with any weight loss regimen or supplement, I think this type of treatment would need to be studied extensively before deciding if it would be safe to administer. Furthermore, the treatment would need to be modified according to the person, simply because weight gain is due to multiple factors and it may not be primarily endocannabinoid imbalance. I would not be surprised to see some derivative of these antagonists on the shelf in the future claiming to “lower appetite” and “increase weight loss”. Researchers may even discover a timeline of action and be able to sell the drug while ensuring customers that “pounds can be lost in weeks!” Keep your eyes open for the next diet craze, and make sure to read the fine print. It may be that the next best thing is endocannabinoid antagonists.
Endocannabinoid antagonists: The next diet craze?
