Abstract

Obesity is a major cause of premature death in the UK, and may contribute to as many as 30 000 deaths a year in the UK. Although effective treatment for obesity is still awaited, many developments have occurred to improve our understanding of neuroendocrine regulation of food intake and weight gain, especially regarding the role of gut hormones. One such gut hormone is peptide tyrosine-tyrosine also known as PYY where Y depicts the abbreviation for tyrosine. PYY is a 36 amino acid hormone, first isolated from porcine intestine. PYY, along with few other gut hormones, has been suggested as a potential therapeutic agent for obesity. This review examines the relationship of PYY to appetite regulation, energy homeostasis and the relevant neuroendocrine feedback mechanism.