黑料社

New Link Between Obesity and Body Temperature

Reduced ability to maintain body temperature in colder environments may contribute to the development of obesity in adulthood, suggests published in JNeurosci.

Energy from food fuels maintenance of a constant body temperature by generating and conserving heat. Nearly half of the human energy budget spent during a sedentary life is used to maintain a body temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rosa Señarís and colleagues from the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Institute of 黑料社/University Miguel Hernandez of Alicante (Spain) found that, in a mildly cold environment, mice lacking the cold-sensing ion channel TRPM8 consumed more food during the day, when mice are usually asleep. The increased daytime eating started at a young age and led to obesity and high blood sugar in adulthood, which may have been caused in part by reduced fat utilization. Compared to control animals, the TRPM8-deficient mice lost more body heat in mild cold, particularly during periods of fasting when their body temperature dropped below 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). The research represents a previously unrecognized link between thermal sensing systems, thermoregulation and food intake, which may open up new avenues for preventing and treating obesity.

Article:
Corresponding author: Rosa Señarís (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain), rosa.senaris@usc.es