ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATES IN OBESITY

Presented By: Ali Haider, Komal Ijaz and Kanza Shahid

WHAT ARE CARBOHYDRATES?
 A biological compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that is an important
source of food and energy.
 Our body uses carbohydrates to make glucose that gives your body energy.
TYPES
SIMPLE CARBS: REFINED CARBS : COMPLEX CARBS:
 Immediate source of  Been altered by  Have more fiber
energy to the body machinery to increase its  E.g: fruits, vegetables,
 Monosaccharides and shelf life. beans, whole grain breads
disaccharides  Complex carbs into & pastas
 Only source of energy to simple carbs
the brain  Sugars added during
 Important for cell processing instead of
fertilization , growth and naturally occurring
development sugars
 Breaks up fatty acids  E.g: white bread, cakes,
preventing ketosis cookies, soft drinks,
crackers
MECHANISM OF ACTION:
 Carbohydrates form the major bulk of the human diet
 Once consumed, they must be immediately converted into energy, stored as glycogen, or
converted into fat.
 If the carbohydrates a person eats, produce energy in excess of what the body requires for
its energy expenditure, lipogenesis converts the excess energy from into body fat, a
source of long-term energy.
 If the carbohydrates consumed do not produce enough energy to support a person’s
activity level, the energy stored in body fat reserves is used instead.

 RDA = 130 grams of carbs per day and the avoidance of simple carbohydrates
GLYCEMIC INDEX (GI):
 It is a rating system for foods containing carbohydrates.
 Classification of carbohydrates in terms of glucose and insulin responses:
 It shows how quickly each food affects the blood sugar (glucose) level when that
food is eaten on its own.
 White bread is an example of carbohydrate with high glycemic index, digested
quickly into glucose and causing blood sugar to spike quickly (high glycemic index)
 In contrast brown rice is digested more slowly causing a lower, more gentle change
of blood sugar level (low glycemic index)
LINK BETWEEN GI AND OBESITY:
 Three mechanisms are involved
1) High glycemic carbohydrate leads to postprandial hyperinsulinemia and excessive
weight gain
2) Sugar containing drinks tend to displace energy from other food sources leading to
increased energy intake
3) High glycemic index food promotes hyper-phagia

 Low-GI diets reduce plasma fatty acids and may suppress production or release of
signaling hormones from adipose tissue, in turn tending to reverse dyslipidemia and
insulin resistance
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF CARBOHYDRATES ON
OBESITY:
 High carbohydrate foods promote satiety in the short term
 Excess energy in any form will promote body fat accumulation and will lead to
obesity if energy expenditure is not increased.
 It all depends on the type of carbohydrate
 A fiber-rich diet (complex carbs) is important in the control and management of
obesity. It provides bulk to food which makes you feel fuller while reducing the
calories consumed
 Certain pentoses (polysaccharides) present in fiber binds with cholesterol, thus
reducing its absorption from the intestine.
 Fiber rich foods include wheat bran, whole wheat four, peas, carrots and most of the
leafy green vegetables.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CARBOHYDRATES ON
OBESITY:
 High glycemic index
 High blood sugar levels
 If not utilized by body, builds up fats
 They contribute to excess energy intake and subsequent weight gain.
Leptin; the satiety hormone. Ghrelin; the hunger hormone. When ghrelin levels are
high, we feel hungry. After eating, ghrelin levels fall, and we feel satisfied.
GHRELIN AND LEPTIN:
 Leptin is anorexigenic (i.e., appetite suppressant)
 Ghrelin is orexigenic (i.e., appetite stimulant)

 Ghrelin on Body Weight:

 Ghrelin stimulates feeding and results in obesity
 It is produced in the stomach and also in the hypothalamic sub-paraventricular zone, which has
an appetite-stimulant action
 Ghrelin levels rise before a meal and go down after meals
 Moreover, ghrelin levels fluctuate in accordance with changes in energy reserves in the body
 Thus ghrelin is episodic in secretion, but the amplitude depends upon the feeding status
 Leptin on Body Weight:
 Leptin inhibits ghrelin in two ways:
1. It reduces ghrelin secretion by2. Leptin also increases the rate of
gastric cells and suppresses the thermo-genesis and thus promotes
expression of ghrelin receptors.This weight maintenance.
prevents the stimulation of ghrelin.
• When this loop is disrupted at any
point, hypothalamic signaling of
enough feeding/satiety is lost,
resulting in obesity.
o ACTIONS OF GHRELIN AND LEPTIN:
 When the body is in positive energy balance, ghrelin levels go down, and vice versa in
fasting or anorexia nervosa. Leptin does exactly the opposite.

o ANOREXIA and GHRELIN:

 In anorexic eating disorders, the ghrelin levels are chronically raised due to the body’s
energy's negative state (negative energy balance)
 They are meant to stimulate the appetite to increase body fat percentage.
OBESOGENS

 Obesogens are chemicals that

disrupt the body’s normal
homeostatic controls in such
a way as to promote
adipogenesis and lipid
accumulation.
 Obesogens cause weight gain
by altering lipid homeostasis
to promote adipogenesis and
lipid accumulation.
FUNCTIONS AND EFFECTS OF OBESOGENS
Increasing the number of fat cells (adipocytes)
Increasing the size of fat cells (adipocytes), storage of fat per cell, or both
 Altering endocrine pathways responsible for control of adipose tissue
development
 Altering metabolic rate

 Favor energy storage

 Altering hormones that regulate appetite, satiety, and food preferences

 Lipid metabolism in endocrine tissues such as pancreas, adipose tissue, liver,

gastrointestinal tract, brain, and muscle