WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Altered levels of several peripheral hormones involved in the homeostatic regulation of body weight persist more than one year after initial weight reduction, according to a study published in the Oct. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Priya Sumithran, M.B., B.S., from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues investigated whether the changes in the circulating levels of several peripheral hormones involved in the homeostatic regulation of body weight were transient or persisted over time. During a 10-week weight-loss program, a very-low-energy diet was prescribed to 50 overweight or obese patients without diabetes. Circulating levels of leptin, ghrelin, peptide YY, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide 1, amylin, cholecystokinin, insulin, pancreatic polypeptide, and subjective ratings of appetite were examined at baseline (before weight loss), at 10 weeks or program completion, and at 62 weeks.
The investigators found that an average weight loss of 13.5 kg was associated with significant reductions in leptin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, insulin, and amylin levels, and with increases in ghrelin, GIP, and pancreatic polypeptide levels. Subjective appetite also increased significantly. One year after the initial weight loss, the mean levels of leptin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, insulin, ghrelin, GIP, pancreatic polypeptide, and hunger were significantly different compared to baseline.
"One year after initial weight reduction, levels of the circulating mediators of appetite that encourage weight regain after diet-induced weight loss do not revert to the levels recorded before weight loss," the authors write. "Long-term strategies to counteract this change may be needed to prevent obesity relapse."
One author disclosed a financial relationship with Novo Nordisk.
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