Rise of appetite controlling drugs reflects a change in how experts see obesity today

Obesity is rarely about extra inches, it is about how a human body stores fat and regulates energy. 

Experts are now calling it a complex metabolic disorder as opposed to a lifestyle choice, slowly recognizing it as a progressive disease requiring medical treatment.

The sudden popularity of appetite controlling drugs in the market is directly associated with the changing perception of obesity. For the longest, fat accumulation has been linked to poor dietary choices, making obesity a controllable behavioral attribute and over simplifying a complex condition. However, the origin of this disease is an amalgamation of genetic, metabolic and environmental factors.

Hunger is not a personal choice

Appetite researchers are also seeing ‘hunger’ in a different light. It is a biological impulse influenced by hormones, energy metabolism, drugs, medical conditions, psychological factors and others. These forces are much stronger than a modifiable willpower or personal choice.

Appetite regulation also follows a complex pathway which starts in the gut, activating certain hormonal pathways that eventually travel the impulse to the brain. The feeling of fullness in the stomach is shaped by the gut microbiome, nutrients absorbed by the digestive lining, and glucose levels in the blood. All these factors make hunger a complicated physiological response.

Obesity as a complex disease

Obesity begins when the calorie consumption starts getting more than the energy expenditure. However, energy dysregulation is just one way of looking at it, say experts. It hardly has a one defined cause.

Some studies show a dysregulated hormonal system which often happens in diseases like diabetes, thyroidism, PCOS and other metabolic disorders, can disrupt the fat storage in the adipose tissues. It can also happen the other way around where excessive fat storage disrupts the hormonal pathways.

This makes obesity a multifactorial disorder with some experts not hesitating to call it a ‘vicious loop’. If not managed at the earliest, it becomes difficult to come out of it.

The role of anti-appetite drugs 

Understanding obesity as a disease also requires acknowledging the need for medical intervention. This is why the relevance of anti-appetite drugs is on the rise in healthcare.

Glucagon-like peptide- 1(GLP) is a group of medicines that regulate appetite by delaying gastric emptiness and increasing sensations of satiety. These medicines signal fullness and help the food leave the stomach at a slower rate. This regulates hunger and aids in faster weight loss.

Interestingly, these medicines were earlier used to treat diabetes but are now recommended for obesity management.