How Hormones Affect Appetite

Appetite Hormones Affect the Body After Weight Loss Leading to Weight Regain

There’s a reason why weight regain is so common

While healthy eating and physical activity are important when trying to manage weight, it’s also important to understand a process that’s happening inside the body that can make weight management difficult.

This is where a team of appetite hormones comes in. These hormones signal to the brain to help manage appetite, including hunger and the feeling of fullness. The body’s response to weight loss can make weight management as challenging as actually losing the weight.

Both the brain and these appetite hormones contribute to what, why, and how much you eat.

When a person has obesity it's not easy to lose weight and keep it off.
Weight loss triggers a hormonal response that increases appetite and reduces energy expenditure. Because of this, it can be hard to find the right way to treat or manage obesity for many years. We at Novo Nordisk have been investigating whether there was a body weight set point that determines what your weight should be.
It's our hope that if we can find that switch in the brain, we can regulate it and help a lot of people living with obesity to lose weight and then maintain that weight loss.

Ask your health care provider how appetite hormones may play a role in your weight management plan.

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Hormones that affect appetite

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is a hunger hormone best known for its role in initiating appetite
Ghrelin levels are highest when someone hasn’t eaten in a while, or just before they eat a regularly scheduled meal like breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Ghrelin levels may increase following weight loss from reducing calories. This can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Peptide YY (PYY)

Peptide YY, or PYY, is a hormone released by the intestines in response to eating a meal
PYY signals to the brain that the body feels full after eating
After losing weight by limiting calories, PYY levels may go down. This can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Cholecystokinin (CCK)

Cholecystokinin, or CCK, is a hormone released by cells in the gut when eating meals
CCK suppresses hunger by signaling to the brain that the body feels full
After losing weight by limiting calories, there may be a reduction in CCK that can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

GLP-1

Glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, is a hormone that is made mainly in the gut but can also come from the brain
GLP-1 is released in response to eating food and helps determine when someone feels full
After losing weight by limiting calories, GLP-1 levels may go down, which can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Amylin

Amylin, like insulin, is a hormone released from the pancreas after eating a meal
Amylin engages with specific areas of the brain to help the body decide when it is full after eating
After losing weight by limiting calories, amylin levels may be affected, which can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone made in the pancreas, responsible for allowing sugar to enter cells to be used as energy. Without insulin, the body would be unable to fuel itself. Insulin also helps let the body know when to stop eating
After losing weight by limiting calories, insulin levels may be lower which can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Leptin

Leptin is a hormone made by fat cells in the body
Leptin is released by fat cells and helps tell the brain when to stop eating
After losing weight by limiting calories, leptin levels may go down, which can contribute to increased hunger and lead to weight regain

Team up for success

Work with a health care provider to discuss treatment options like reducing calories through healthy meal planning, increased physical activity, counseling, prescription medicines, or bariatric surgery.

Talk to a Health Care Provider