New hormone discovery ‘can combat obesity’

Scientists from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have isolated a hormone that can help to prevent obesity by activating brown fat within the body.

The researchers have found that orexin, a hormone that is typically deficient among obesity patients, plays a crucial role in creating calorie-burning brown fat, thus aiding the process of converting fat into energy.

Trials among mice showed that supplements of this hormone were able to reduce the levels of white fat among test subjects, providing a potential alternative approach to treatment options that function by curbing appetite impulses in the brain.

It was also found that mice affected by orexin deficiency were biologically incapable of processing fat as effectively, regardless of their level of food consumption.

Dr Devanjan Sikder, senior author of the study and assistant professor in Sanford-Burnham's Diabetes and Obesity Research Center, said: "We're now taking the next steps in determining how orexin – or a chemical that has the same effect – might be used in humans to therapeutically prevent or treat obesity."

Earlier this year, a study from the University of Southampton found that obesity risk among children can often be heavily influenced by their mother's diet during pregnancy.