An energy sensor for control of energy intake.

Control of energy intake, either in response to changes in the energy content of food or in energy expenditures and storage, is based on the detection of a feedback signal generated in the processing of metabolic fuels for energy. Evidence from studies of the fructose analogue, 2,5-AM, indicates a sensor in liver responds to changes in intracellular ATP or some closely associated event and communicates this information to the brain via vagal afferent neurons. Such a mechanism could serve as the energy sensor which controls energy intake.