The relatively stable body weight during adulthood is attributed to a homeostatic regulatory mechanism residing in the brain which uses feedback from the body to control energy intake and expenditure. This mechanism guarantees that if perturbed up or down by design, body weight will return to pre-perturbation levels, defined as the defended level or set point. The fact that weight re-gain is common after dieting suggests that obese subjects defend a higher level of body weight. Thus, the set point for body weight is flexible and likely determined by the complex interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Unlike dieting, bariatric surgery does a much better job in producing sustained suppression of food intake and body weight, and an intensive search for the underlying mechanisms has started. Although one explanation for this lasting effect of particularly Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) is simple physical restriction due to the invasive surgery, a more exciting explanation is that the surgery physiologically reprograms the body weight defense mechanism. In this non-systematic review, we present behavioral evidence from our own and other studies that defended body weight is lowered after RYGB and sleeve gastrectomy. After these surgeries, rodents return to their preferred lower body weight if over- or underfed for a period of time, and the ability to drastically increase food intake during the anabolic phase strongly argues against the physical restriction hypothesis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Although the mechanism involves central leptin and melanocortin signaling pathways, other peripheral signals such as gut hormones and their neural effector pathways likely contribute. Future research using both targeted and non-targeted 'omics' techniques in both humans and rodents as well as modern, genetically targeted, neuronal manipulation techniques in rodents will be necessary.
The gut hormone incretins have an important physiological role in meal-related insulin release and post-prandial glucose control. In addition to weight loss, the incretin hormones have a role in glucose control after bariatric surgery. The release of incretins, and specifically of glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1, in response to the ingestion of nutrients, is greatly enhanced after gastric bypass (RYGBP). The rapid transit of food from the gastric pouch to the distal ileum is responsible for the greater GLP-1 release after RYGBP. The incretin effect on insulin secretion, or the greater insulin response to oral glucose compared to an isoglycemic intravenous glucose challenge, is severely impaired in patients with type 2 diabetes, but is recovered rapidly after RYGBP. The improvement in insulin secretion rate and β-cell sensitivity to oral glucose after RYGBP is mediated by endogenous GLP-1, and is abolished by exendin 9-39, a specific GLP-1 receptor antagonist. While calorie restriction and weight loss have major effects on the rapid and sustained improvement of fasted glucose metabolism, the enhanced incretin effect is a key player in post-prandial glucose control after RYGBP.