Research
Hormonal
The efficacy of MC4 receptor agonists in reducing food intake is attenuated in subjects with high adiposity or those consuming high-fat diets, suggesting the system regulates a defended body fat set point.
If you are obese or eat a high-fat diet, standard appetite-suppressing drugs targeting the MC4 receptor may not work well because your body defends its current weight. Treatment might need to address the underlying adiposity or diet composition first, as the brain's 'off switch' for eating becomes less sensitive in high-fat states.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Rats that are fed a high-fat diet for several weeks also show an attenuated response to MTII... MTII was, however, less effective in reducing food intake and body weight in rats with a lower body fat mass... This indicates that activity of the MC system is related to the defended level of body adiposity.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple rodent studies showing attenuated response to agonists in high-fat diet and obese models.
Source
The MC4 receptor and control of appetite
Roger A.H. Adan et al. · British Journal of Pharmacology · 2006
DOI 10.1038/sj.bjp.0706929
narrative_reviewCited 256×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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