Nyenwe - Obesity Flashcards
(34 cards)
Obesity basics
- Excessive adipose tissue
- Chronic, relapsing condition
- Genetics, environment, and behavior contribute to etiology
- Driver of multiple risk factors that INC morbidity and mortality
What are the BMI categories? How do these correlate with risk of disease?
- Underweight: <18.5 -> INC risk of disease
- Normal: 18.5-24.9
- Overweight: 25-29.9 -> INC risk of disease
- Obese I: 30-34.9 -> high risk of disease
- Obese II: 35-39.9 -> very high risk of disease
- Extreme obesity (III): >= 40 -> extremely high risk of disease
- GRAPH: multivariate RR of death from CV disease, cancer, and all other causes

Why is waist circumference important? What measurements yield high risk of disease?
- Indirect measure of central adiposity, correlated with visceral fat
- Excess fat in the abdomen is an INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR of risk factors and morbidity
- High risk: >40 inches for men, and >35 for women
How has obesity trended in the past 25 years?
UP

What are the basic contributing factors to obesity?
- About 50% genetic predisposition
- Chronic disequilibrium between intake and output

What are the monogenic causes of obesity? How common are they?
- RARE: <5% of cases
- Melanocortin-4 receptor mutations (attached)
- Leptin deficiency/leptin receptor deficiency
- POMC (proopiomelanocortin) gene mutations
- Prohormone convertase-1 mutations
- PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor)-gamma-2 mutations
- Thyroid hormone receptor-beta mutations

How does genetics contribute to obesity?
- POLYGENIC
- Can only explain about 50%, even all added together

What substances promote positive energy balance (weight gain)?
- Neuropeptide Y
- Melanin-concentrating hormone
- Agouti-related peptide
- Ghrelin
- Galanin, Dynorphin, beta-endorphin
- Orexin A and B
- NE, epinephrine
- Opioids
- GHRH, Somatostatin
- Androgen, progesterone
- Endocannabinoids
What substances promote negative energy balance (weight loss)?
- Leptin: produces anorexia and weight loss
- Peptide YY
- Ciliary neutrotrophic factor, Insulin (promotes satiety)
- Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone
- Glucagon-like peptide-1
- Urocortin, Neurotensin
- CRH, Bombesin
- Cocaine-amphetamine-regulated peptide (CART)
- Serotonin
- Cholecystokinin, Enterostatin
- Dopamine
Why can leptin therapy be useful?
- Leptin produces anorexia and weight loss

What is leptin? What does it do?
- Leptin is made by fat cells
- The more adipose you have, the more leptin you make -> body sees this as there being plenty of resources, so you don’t need more
-
INH agouti-related protein and neuropeptide Y
1. MCH and orexin orexigenic effectors - Also stimulates alpha-MSH, which has an appetite suppressant effect (from POMC) —> acts through MC4R
1. CRH and TRH anorexigenic effectors - Produces ANOREXIA and WEIGHT LOSS: reduces food intake and INC energy expenditure

What 3 factors contribute to energy expenditure? Why is this important in obesity?
- 70% expenditure from basal metabolic rate (this diminishes as we grow older
1. Can INC this by exercising - 10% from thermic effect of food
- One way to tip the balance is to INC our physical activity, which is 20% of expenditure
- Balance between energy intake and energy expenditure -> the difference is stored as fat

Fecal matter and obesity?
- New area of research in obesity
- Fecal matter transplant resulted in weight gain (from obese to lean mice)
- It is possible that the microbiota/flora play a role in obesity

What is the endocannabinoid system?
- Endogenous signaling system discovered in 1990s via research into psychoactive props of THC
- 2 types of receptors: CB1 and CB2, and several endogenous compounds, incl anandamide
- Generally silent, but becomes activated to:
1. Reduce pain and anxiety
2. Modulate body temp, hormone release, and smooth muscle tone
3. Inhibit motor behavior
4. Extinguish aversive memories
5. Induce appetite, contributing to obesity
What happens in endocannabinoid system overactivity?
- Brain:
1. Hypothalamus: INC hunger
2. Nucleus accumbens: INC motivation to eat
3. INC food intake + INC fat storage - Peripheral tissues (adipose, liver, GI, muscle):
1. INC insulin resistance, DEC glucose uptake
2. DEC HDL-C, INC TG
3. DEC adiponectin (synergistic effects with leptin)

What are some of the comorbidities of obesity?
- NAFLD: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
- DJD: degenerative joint disease

How can obesity lead to DM, HTN, CAD, and CHF? Describe the “flow chart.”
- Residual fat becomes a reservoir of fatty acids that can be delivered to the liver to make cholesterol; body can only get rid of this cholesterol via bile, pre-exposing you to gallstones
- High FA in the blood can be toxic to beta cells of the pancreas too (lipotoxicity) —> can contribute to diabetes
- Hyperinsulinemia is also a known risk factor for some types of cancer
- INC SYM tone leads to HTN via effects on blood vessels, heart, and kidneys
- Obesity directly related to some diseases, like T2D (i.e., controlling weight can relieve disease) -> for others, cause and effect is not as well established

What are the treatment categories for obesity?
-
Lifestyle modification
1. Diet: Atkins, South Beach, Mediterranean, DASH, etc.
2. Physical activity
3. Behavior modification - Pharmacotherapy: phentermine, topiramate, rimonabant, liraglutide, orlistat, etc.
- Surgery: lapband, vertical banded gastroplasty, gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion w/duodenal switch
How does most obesity pharmacotherapy work? What is the exception?
- Most work through central mechanism
- Orlistat: only one that works through the gut, INH breakdown of fat, and producing malabsorption
Phentermine
- CNS
- Stimulates NE release
- (+) anti-convulsant: Topiramate (anorexigenic effect)
What obesity drugs are serotonergic?
- Dexfenfluramine, Fenfluramine: INC release of serotonin and DEC reuptake of serotonin
- Lorcaserin: 5HT2c (serotonin) receptor agonist
Sibutramine
- Blocks NE, serotonin, and dopamine reuptake
Rimonabant
- Cannabinoid receptor antagonist
- Depression is the major side effect (not approved by the FDA because of this)
Liraglutide
- GLP-1
- Anti-diabetes drug that can produce significant weight loss at higher dose


