Sending Clear Messages to Our Bones…

A new study, done with animals, suggests that our bones may play a big part in controlling our appetite. Scientists believe that we have an internal bathroom scale that attempts to Listen-Bonessustain a particular weight. It is usually a particular weight that we have maintained for a long period of time. Leptin is a hormone that controls appetite. When a person increases the fat storage of their body, more of this hormone is produced. When the brain receives this message it should in turn reduce appetite. If this were true people would not hold on to added weight. “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published results of studies done with rodents. Weights were implanted in the animals and immediately the animals began to eat less to accommodate the extra weight. The experiment was again repeated in animals who had little of the hormone leptin and again the animal ate less to accommodate the weight. This led scientists to come to the conclusion it is the production of new bone that is capable of keeping the body at a particular weight. Extra weight signals osteocytes (bone cells) to increase production. This in turn sends signals that there is a need to make changes so as to return to a particular weight. However since a good deal of us spend most of the day sitting our bones are not able to feel the stress of the extra weight and therefore there is no set weight that the body wishes to return to. Solution, stand as much as possible and walk after eating. This will help send clear messages to our bones.