Glucagon, the hormone responsible for regulating appetite loses its ability to suppress hunger pangs and promote a sense of fullness in obese people but is effective in people with type 1 diabetes.
Glucagon is the hormone in the body that is responsible for sending signals to the body to release glucose when the sugar level in the body drops. Researchers previously found that this hormone may also be responsible in regulating appetite by suppressing hunger pangs and promoting a feeling of fullness.
In a new study, researchers from Charité-University Medicine in Berlin, Germany found that this hormone loses its ability to promote fullness in obese people but continues to suppress hunger pangs in people with type 1 diabetes.
"Once a person becomes obese, glucagon no longer induces feelings of fullness," said the study's lead author, Ayman M. Arafat, MD, of Charité-University Medicine in Berlin, Germany, in a press release. "Further research is needed to determine why glucagon no longer suppresses appetite effectively in this population, even though they are otherwise healthy."
For the new study, researchers examined the appetite and glucagon levels of 11 obese people, 13 with type 1 diabetes and 13 lean people. All participants were given an injection of either glucagon or a placebo, following which each participant's appetite and level of appetite hormone ghrelin were measured.
Researchers noted that among the obese participants receiving a glucagon or a placebo injection didn't matter and their appetite remained the same. However, the lean participants and the ones that had type 1 diabetes felt a greater sense of fullness when they were given a glucagon injection.
"The findings could influence efforts to develop new treatments for obesity and diabetes," Arafat said. "Although therapeutic agents that influence glucagon and other hormones currently are considered a promising avenue for research, this study suggests a treatment involving glucagon may be ineffective in controlling meal size in people who are obese."
Obesity is one of America's biggest causes of health hazards with over 35 percent of the country's population being obese, reports the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity was named a disease by the American Medical Association earlier this year in June.
