Food proteins and peptides in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis and food intake in rats

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Obesity is becoming the most costly public health problem with the number of deaths due to its associated metabolic diseases approaching the number of deaths attributed to smoking. Obesity and its associated diseases consume approximately 5% of the health care budget in Canada. In the US the estimate is close to 10%. Clearly there is an urgency to understand the role of food and food components in the regulation of food intake. My long-term interest has been in the elucidation of the mechanisms by which food proteins suppress hunger and provide feelings of satiety. Experiments in both experimental animals and humans have shown that protein is more satiating than fats or carbohydrates. In recent years the popularity of the high protein diets suggests that many people find this to be true for weight-loss diets. The mechanisms by which proteins bring about satiety are unknown, and the elucidation of these is the focus of my research. Specifically I want to determine how food proteins and the peptides released during digestion provide satiety signals from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain. The practical goal of this research is to use our understanding of mechanisms to formulate food products (functional foods and nutraceuticals) that will assist individuals to reduce calorie intact and to maintain healthy body weights. In addition we will be able to give better advice on the selection of foods that enhance satiety and we may be able to develop drugs that stimulate the brain satiety mechanisms indirectly via the gut, rather than use drugs that directly impact on the brain and thus have many untoward side effects.