Mechanisms for the control of body-weight.

Various hypotheses for the mechanism of regulation of body-weight in human adults have been proposed in the light of the magnitude of the long-term changes in weight actually observed. One of these hypotheses has been represented in the form of a computer simulation model which has been used to demonstrate that (i) it is not necessary to postulate the existence of a set-point regulatory system, and (ii) in practice, several mechanisms, including hunger and satiety, the relative constancy of habits and customs of behaviour, and the existence of cognitive thresholds combined with a relatively simple physiological negative feedback system probably constitute the simplest hypothesis for the mechanism of weight stability.