Obesity and the Neuroendocrine Control of Energy Homeostasis: The Role of Spontaneous Locomotor Activity1

Obesity represents one of the most urgent global health threats as well as one of the leading causes of death throughout industrialized nations. Efficacious and safe therapies remain at large. Attempts to decrease fat mass via pharmacological reduction of energy intake have had limited potency or intolerable side effects. Increasingly widespread sedentary lifestyle is often cited as a major contributor to the increasing prevalence of obesity. Moreover, low levels of spontaneous physical activity (SPA) are a major predictor of fat mass accumulation during overfeeding in humans, pointing to a substantial role for SPA in the control of energy balance. Despite this, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which SPA is regulated. The overview will attempt to summarize available information on neuroendocrine factors regulating SPA.