obesity (Page 29)

Women have higher rates of obesity and eating disorders thanmen do, and now scientists think they know why. New studiesof brain scans show that different parts of men’s andwomen’s brains react to hunger, as well as to feeling full.

Angelo Del Parigi, of the National Institute of Diabetes andDigestive and Kidney Diseases, used PET scans to look at thebrains of 22 men and 22 women. A PET scan identifies areaswhere there are surges in blood flow that reflect brainactivity. Unlike X-rays, changes in the brain can beobserved on a PET scan while they are happening. Thescientists performed the scans after the participantsfinished a 36-hour fast and again after they drank a liquidmeal.
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Most dieters regain their lost weight. Scientists say the newly discovered appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin is what makes this happen.

Jamie Cohen writes in abcnews.com that the hormone, which is secreted in the stomach, sends messages to the brain that fluctuate throughout the day, depending on how full the stomach is. Ghrelin produces hunger by rising shortly before meals and dropping soon after.
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A study by author Dr. Sharon Giese, an associate professor of plastic surgery at State University of New York, has found that overweight women who had large amounts of fat suctioned out experienced sustained weight loss as well as reduced blood pressure and improved insulin levels two years later.
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