Obesity

[wildwood]

Is there a scientific reason why it is so hard to invent a pill that prevents one's body from storing fat?

I am lucky in that my weight is easy to manage and I eat plenty of 'naughty' foods, but I know of some that are living a life of constant struggle to prevent their weight from ballooning.

We have pills for just about everything, so why not one of the most prevalent and costly ailments in the western world.

[beso]

woofgang //I remember there was research done on activating or increasing the amount of "brown fat" in the body which looked promising for weight loss but that must have been more than 20 years ago and nothing seems to have come of it.//

It is still around and is basically correct. Brown fat is rapidly metabolised.

Recent research shows that to increase the brown fat the body should be regularly exposed to temperatures of 17 degrees Celsius or lower. It is basically winter fat.

[beso]

Another important factor in obesity is the of bacteria in the intestines. Some convert more of the the food to absorbable nutrients than others.

[pixie373]

ADHD medications are stimulants and also used as appetite suppressants. My daughter lost lots of weight on those, which she couldn't afford to lose and had to stop taking them. The only side effects we were really told of was a possible slight rise in blood pressure and pulse, so they were checked regularly.

[woofgang]

beso the research I remember activated and increased the amount of brown fat by using electric current.

[Old_Geezer]

≤ 62.6° ?!?

All my fat must be pure white then.
Brrrrrr....

[beso]

Somewhere along the road someone decided that 22 C (~72 F) was the ideal temperature for humans and it became the default temperature in controlled environments. Day and night.

Sure it is good for comfort but clearly the body has other expectations. Hardly surprising considering our entire evolution would have happened in an environment with diurnal and seasonal temperature fluctuations.

Our bodies probably prepare for winter and maybe they just keep building up long term fat if the trigger temperature drop never comes.

Nighttime temperature drop is probably involved in sleep triggers too.