Grant: Operating Grant

Obesity is a major health problem in the developed world. It is now clear that the main cause of obesity is over-eating. It has been suggested then that obesity should be viewed as a brain disease.We plan to study how the brain controls appetite by focussing on a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin is made by the stomach and its main effect is to enter the brain and activate hunger centres. We will administer and measure ghrelin in healthy volunteers, and in obese individuals undergoing weight loss regimens while simultaneously measuring brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We hope to gain insights into the causes of obesity, and develop methods to assess treatments, whether pharmacological or behavioral.