PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Gade, Wayne
AU  - Gade, Jean
AU  - Collins, Melissa
AU  - Schmit, Jessica
AU  - Schupp, Nicole
TI  - Failures of Feedback: Rush Hour Along the Highway to Obesity
AID  - 10.29074/ascls.23.1.39
DP  - 2010 Jan 01
TA  - American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
PG  - 39--50
VI  - 23
IP  - 1
4099  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/23/1/39.short
4100  - http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/content/23/1/39.full
SO  - Clin Lab Sci2010 Jan 01; 23
AB  - After reading the following article, the reader should be able to: Define obesity, in terms of body mass index or BMI.Describe the hormones and functions of the HPA system and non-HPA hormones.List and describe the three primary ways that the hypothalamus helps regulate body weight.Describe the molecular types and tissue of origin for leptin, insulin and cortisol.List and describe four “entrance ramps” to the “highway to obesity.”Describe how leptin and insulin resistance are related to the development of obesity.Describe “lipid buffering” and how it relates to ectopic fat deposition.Describe how the dopamine “pleasure/reward system” is involved with such diverse behaviors as drug and alcohol abuse and overeating.Discuss the impact of inheritance on an individual's tendency to become obese.Identify analytes that are typically elevated by the metabolism of obesity versus analytes that are decreased or unchanged. From hot dogs to Hashimoto's and inheritance to inactivity, many “entrance ramps” converge onto the “Highway to Obesity”, each contributing caloric intake that exceeds expenditure. Initially, the hypothalamus regulates appetite and energy based on leptin feedback, until feedback failure increases appetite, and allows deposition of abdominal fat, metabolic dysregulation, and metabolic syndrome. Without feedback controls, progress toward obesity is unimpeded unless diet, exercise, and/or medications provide an exit ramp.