Food Intake and Its Regulation Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Food Intake and Its Regulation. Answer: Introduction: Food intake and its regulation is an important aspect of the human body as it is a deciding factor of how well our body works and metabolizes. The study is crucial to develop dietary charts and treatments for the disorders involving these pathways. The mechanism also involves the interaction between the brain, gut and the adipose tissues. The influence of various physiological mechanisms during the food intake process gives an insight of the way the food that humans consume gets processed and digested. The study is important because it helps in researches involved in manipulative studies of the hormones and other factors associated with it. The discussion in the report deals with the different hormones and the neurological signaling processes that are involved in the procedure. The different factors that are involved in controlling hunger for long or short duration will also be given emphasis in the following paragraphs. Influence of the leptin and ghrelin hormones in the food consumption process: The levels of the hormone ghrelin and leptin are crucial factors in the process of food intake. They have a long term effect in the regulation of consumed food. The fluctuations in these hormone levels, act as a determinant for the motivation or demotivation of humans to consume food. During ingestion of food, the adipocytes release the hormone leptin in the body. While consumption, the levels of leptin increases which reduces a persons eagerness to ingest (Rezai-Zadeh et al., 2014). On the other hand, when the levels of ghrelin hormone increases, the appetite of a person increases. It is the only orexigenic molecule known to be present in the human body. During the state of satiety, the levels of leptin increases and that of ghrelin decreases. Necessity of signaling by pancreatic hormones during ingestion (insulin, amylin and glucagon): The hormones insulin and amylin are secreted in the pancreas by the beta cells, both the hormones provide signals that help in storage of energy as visceral adipose tissues. Insulin directly acts to suppress the production and secretion of glucose. It also gets transported in the mediobasal part of hypothalamus in the brain, to elicit a catabolic response, this response reduces excessive intake of food which helps in maintenance of body weight (Varela Horvath, 2012). Amylin works similarly by stimulating the neurons present in the hindbrain to reduce food consumption. The hormone glucagon is secreted by the alpha cells, it increases the secretion of glucose in the liver, it also reduces the meal size, although the signaling process is different from that of insulin and amylin. It sends signals to the brain in which the vagus nerves act as mediators. Mechanisms of other hormone peptides involved in neuronal signal for regulation of food intake: The neuronal circuits of the adipose tissue, gut and brain have several types of peptides that are known to inhibit the urge of appetite in the human body (Hussain Bloom, 2013). The peptides of the gut such as peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) and cholecustokinin are some of the examples. Several circulating hormones from the gut, influence the working of the specific neurons present in hypothalamus called the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and tractus solitaries (NTS) through circumventricular organ (Fromentin et al., 2012). The gastrointestinal vagal afferents on the other hand, converge in the brainstems NTS, this projection carries signal to the brains hypothalamus which reduces the hunger. ARC works as a center of integration which in association with two subpopulation of neurons enhances and influences appetite. One of the subpopulations expresses agouti related protein (AgRP) and neuropeptide Y (NPY); these increase the appetite, whereas, the other population expresses cocaine and pro-o piomelanocortin (POMC); these reduce or inhibit food intake (Florant Healy, 2012). The axons of the neurons present in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) influence the secretion of anorexigenic peptides like thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH), oxytocin and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) (Duca Covasa, 2012). Role of hypothalamus in regulation of consumed food: The food intake regulation is a mechanism that involves humoral signals and varied neuronal pathways that lead to the hypothalamus. The processing of the neuronal circuits in the hypothalamus happens first and then descends commands via the spinal neurons and vagal to the body (Morton et al., 2014). The hypothalamus is found to have receptors that are sensitive to metabolism of glucose, stomach distension, body fat reserve, cannabinoid receptors and neuropeptides. The mentioned receptors along with the neurons present in the different groups of cells present in hypothalamus, stimulate intake of food (Begg Woods, 2013). As mentioned in the above paragraphs, the hypothalamus is also involved in the processing of insulin which is also involved in the procession of food intake. Conclusion: From the above discussion, it can be concluded that, understanding the mechanism by which the process of food consumption happens is of major importance as it decides the rate of metabolism in human body. The intricate study of the hormone signaling involving several neurons and their receptors, help in constructing treatment and dietary charts for the physiological disorders related to the pathways involved in the process. The knowledge of the orexigenic and the anorexigenic peptides involved in the process, helps in manipulative studies of the pathways which is necessary for development of therapy involving them. References: Begg, D. P., Woods, S. C. (2013). The endocrinology of food intake.Nature Reviews Endocrinology,9(10), 584-597. Duca, F. A., Covasa, M. (2012). Current and emerging concepts on the role of peripheral signals in the control of food intake and development of obesity.British Journal of Nutrition,108(5), 778-793. Florant, G. L., Healy, J. E. (2012). The regulation of food intake in mammalian hibernators: a review.Journal of Comparative Physiology B,182(4), 451-467. Fromentin, G., Darcel, N., Chaumontet, C., Marsset-Baglieri, A., Nadkarni, N., Tom, D. (2012). Peripheral and central mechanisms involved in the control of food intake by dietary amino acids and proteins.Nutrition research reviews,25(1), 29-39. Hussain, S. S., Bloom, S. R. (2013). The regulation of food intake by the gut-brain axis: implications for obesity.International Journal of Obesity,37(5), 625. Morton, G. J., Meek, T. H., Schwartz, M. W. (2014). Neurobiology of food intake in health and disease.Nature Reviews Neuroscience,15(6), 367-378. Rezai-Zadeh, K., Yu, S., Jiang, Y., Laque, A., Schwartzenburg, C., Morrison, C. D., ... Mnzberg, H. (2014). Leptin receptor neurons in the dorsomedial hypothalamus are key regulators of energy expenditure and body weight, but not food intake.Molecular metabolism,3(7), 681-693. Varela, L., Horvath, T. L. (2012). Leptin and insulin pathways in POMC and AgRP neurons that modulate energy balance and glucose homeostasis.EMBO reports,13(12), 1079-1086.