Many people are just waiting for the silver bullet anti-obesity drug that will somehow magically keep weight under control. Researchers are hot on the trail:
Critical portions of the brain in those who are obese don't really know they are overweight, researchers have reported in the March issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, published by Cell Press. These findings in obese mice show that a sensor in the brain that normally detects a critical fat hormone--causing a cascade of events that keeps energy balance in check--fails to engage. Meanwhile, the rest of the metabolic pathway remains ready to respond.
"Obesity is not a failure of will power, it is a biological failure," said Michael Cowley of Oregon Health & Science University of his group's findings in the mice. "The brain is not aware that the body is obese."
That's a brassy statement, given conventional wisdom that obesity is essentially a form of laziness. But the findings seem to indicate that an anti-obesity drug may indeed someday be possible, leap-frogging the "mere" weight loss potential of something like
Alli.
I do have fun speculating on what the world would be like if pills truly reduced weight and kept metabolisms in balance. I'm not particularly enthusiastic about exercising, but I find time to do it - I'd love to reclaim that time for alternate pursuits. Like eating. A boy can hope...
