Appetite Hormone 'Glucagon' Fails to Help Obese People Feel Full After a Meal

According to a latest study documented in the journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the appetite hormone 'glucagon' fails to help obese people feel full after a meal but is effective in type 1 diabetes patients.

The new study claims that the hormone glucagon, involved in regulating appetite, loses its ability to make obese people feel full even after they have had their meal but the hormone helps people with type 1 diabetes by suppressing their hunger pangs.

Glucagon, a hormone that is secreted by pancreas, signals the body to release glucose that is stored in the body when the blood sugar levels drops. The hormone also plays a key role in controlling the intake of food and feeling of fullness or satisfaction by signaling the body to lower the levels of other appetite hormones such as ghrelin.

"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. "Further research is needed to determine why glucagon no longer suppresses appetite effectively in this population, even though they are otherwise healthy."

To proceed with their finding, the researchers examined the glucagon levels as well as appetite in various participants that included 11 obese people, 13 normal and 13 people with type 1 diabetes. The subjects were injected with either glucagon or a placebo.  After which they measured the appetite of the subjects with the help of a satiety scale. They also measured the levels of the other appetite hormone gherlin.

They noticed that the feeling of fullness did not change in obese people who took glucagon injections and those who were given placebo. On the other hand, the participants who were lean and had type 1 diabetes felt more full after receiving the glucagon injection. Even after 24 hours the response of the hormone was still detectable in the subjects.

Arafat concluded saying, "The findings could influence efforts to develop new treatments for obesity and diabetes. 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."