Endogenous Opiates and Energy Balance
Abstract
Increasing the palatability of food has two opposite effects: it promotes overeating and provokes caloric output (energy expenditure). The increase in energy expenditure is too small to compensate for overeating and, as a result, obesity occurs. Repeated administration of zinc tannate of naloxone, a long-lasting opiate antagonist, completely abolishes this diet-induced obesity in rats. The drug accomplishes this not only by reducing overeating but also by increasing energy expenditure. This suggests that endogenous opioid peptides encourage obesity in two ways--by stimulating appetite for palatable foods and by reducing energy expenditures.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- March 1982
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.7063865
- Bibcode:
- 1982Sci...215.1536M