Beckman Tiffany, Shi Qiuying, Billington Charles
University of Minnesota, USA.
Minn Med. 2005 Sep;88(9):58-61.
Obesity has emerged as the dominant American public health problem of the 21st century. Because it stems from consuming more energy than is burned, understanding the role of appetite is central to understanding the causes of obesity. Appetite is fundamentally a biological process, based on a set of neurological signals sent from various organs and tissues to the brain; but it is also influenced by environmental and psychosocial factors. This paper outlines the biology of appetite, focusing on the multitude of hormonal and neural pathways that regulate food intake and lead to accumulation of excess body fat. It also briefly explores the effect of psychosocial and environmental factors on the brain and its signaling system, and how researchers are using this information to help control obesity.
肥胖已成为21世纪美国主要的公共卫生问题。由于肥胖源于摄入的能量超过消耗的能量，因此了解食欲的作用对于理解肥胖的成因至关重要。食欲从根本上来说是一个生物学过程，基于从各个器官和组织发送到大脑的一系列神经信号；但它也受到环境和社会心理因素的影响。本文概述了食欲的生物学原理，重点关注调节食物摄入并导致体内多余脂肪堆积的众多激素和神经通路。它还简要探讨了社会心理和环境因素对大脑及其信号系统的影响，以及研究人员如何利用这些信息来帮助控制肥胖。
