Estrogen Regulation Linked to Obesity

In a paper published in the latest issue of the journal Cell Metabolism, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSMC) say that estrogen regulation dysfunction in the female brain may lead to obesity.

The team explains that a number of areas in the brains of women who are predisposed to obesity do not contain enough estrogen receptors. The hormone is responsible for regulating aspects such as appetite, body weight and energy output, which means that it has critical functions.

In order for them to be completed efficiently, estrogen needs to bind to specific receptors on the surface of neurons in several regions of the brain. When the number of receptors is insufficient to allow the connection of the necessary number of estrogen molecules, dysfunctions appear.

Obesity in women may be the result of such a situation, the team says. The work opens up new possibilities of research in this field, PsychCentral reports.