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Increasing water intake suppresses the key hormone to reduce obesity in mice
It is well known that drinking water and staying hydrated is an important part of maintaining our health, but the intricate mechanisms by which a little H2O improves our physiological state are not as well understood. A new study examined the role that increasing water intake might play in obesity and found that it could help reduce the condition in mice by suppressing a key hormone called vasopressin.
Water makes up around 60% of the adult human body, so we are highly dependent on it to keep everything functioning smoothly. Studies have shown how it can stimulate our metabolism, promote weight loss, reduce stress levels, and improve cognitive performance. However, in this new research, scientists from the University of Colorado explored how its influence on vasopressin might contribute to weight loss.
Vasopressin is a hormone that plays several roles in the human body, including helping to regulate blood pressure and body temperature, while studies have also found that it could serve as a biomarker for autism in babies. Vasopressin is also one of the key hormones that regulate hydration levels and is elevated in people with obesity and diabetes.
This latter point inspired the new research by the University of Colorado team, which conducted experiments on mice to uncover why vasopressin levels are elevated in individuals with diabetes and obesity. This involved feeding the rodents sugary water, which the researchers found stimulated the brain to produce more vasopressin. The vasopressin then stored that water as fat, leading to dehydration and, in turn, obesity.
Lanaspa says this is the first time a study has demonstrated how vasopressin influences dietary sugar and causes obesity. In follow-up experiments, the team removed a vasopressin receptor called V1b in the mice, which then did not show the same responses to sugary water. Additionally, giving the mice sugar-free water helped reduce their obesity.
“We discovered that vasopressin influences obesity and diabetes by working through a particular vasopressin receptor known as V1b,” says lead author Miguel A. Lanaspa. “This receptor has been known for some time, but no one really understood its function. We found that mice lacking V1b were completely protected from the effects of sugar. We also showed that administering water can suppress vasopressin and prevent and treat obesity.”
Through their experiments, the researchers were also able to show how water therapy could protect against a variety of metabolic conditions, such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and elevated triglyceride levels, which are linked to heart disease, strokes, and type 2 diabetes.
However, a wide range of factors influence the development of these conditions, so preventing them is not as simple as drinking an extra glass of water before bed. But the researchers hope these findings can serve as a springboard for future research on the relationship between vasopressin, water, and healthy metabolism.
"The clinical importance of this work is that it may encourage studies to assess whether simple increases in water intake can effectively mitigate obesity and metabolic syndrome," says Lanaspa.
