Appetite and Satiety Control-Gut Mechanisms

<p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities particularly type 2 diabetes cardiovascular and hepatic disease and certain cancers continues to rise worldwide. Paradoxically despite an increasingly obesogenic environment particularly in Western societies undernutrition is also extremely common.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The application of novel sophisticated techniques particularly related to imaging and molecular biology has substantially advanced our understanding of the mechanisms controlling appetite and energy intake. This has led to a redefinition of many concepts including the relative importance of central versus peripheral mechanisms recognising that the gastrointestinal (GI) tract particularly gut hormones plays a critical role.</span></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Given the major advance in knowledge in the field this Special Issue provides a comprehensive overview of the GI mechanisms underlying the regulation of appetite and energy intake as a series of definitive reviews by international authorities. The reviews address gut-related mechanisms including nutrient sensing gut hormones and GI motility gut-brain communication including the roles of the vagus and the modulation of reward perception the roles of diet and the microbiota as well as the abnormalities associated with eating disorders specifically obesity and anorexia of ageing and the beneficial effects of bariatric surgery. The reviews cover both preclinical research and studies in humans and are complemented by a number of important original papers.</span></p>