The Importance Of The Endocrine System

The endocrine system interacts with the nervous system to coordinate and integrate the activity of body cells. Unlike the nervous system, which sends signals chemically and electrically, the endocrine system sends signals only via chemical stimulants called hormones. These hormones are secreted by the cells into any extracellular fluids, which then travel through the blood to regulate any metabolic activity. Hormones have a diverse and widespread affect like controlling reproduction, growth, development, maintaining nutrient balance in the blood, regulating cellular metabolism and mobilizing the body defenses (Marieb et al 2013). In dealing with growth and development, the thyroid gland is always under consideration. The thyroid gland is the largest endocrine gland in the body that produces thyroid hormones that consist of two iodine-containing hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyroxine (T3) (Marieb et al 2013). Thyroid-stimulating hormones (TSH) are a tropic hormone that stimulates normal development and secretory activity of the thyroid gland. Thyrotropin-releasing hormones (TRH) are hypothalmic peptides that trigger the release of TSH from thyrotropic cells to different organs to help maintain the body’s metabolic state (Marieb et al 2013). Thyroid function has been known as a major contributor to the basal metabolic rate (O’Malley et al 2000). According to Longhi and Radetti, body composition and thyroid hormones are two components that are closely related. The hormones are involved in regulation of metabolism and thermogenesis, which plays a key role in lipid and glucose metabolism along with digestion of food and fat oxidation (Longhi et al 2013).

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive And K...

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...se whether or not proper treatment can help patients lose weight that was gained throughout the years.

There are many factors that play a role in weight loss for any individual. Many of the mundane factors, such as gender, menstrual status, weight, age and region of living, have been studied and plausible data has been obtained (Ramzan et al 2012). One factor, such as daily exercise, has not been studied and will be the main focus of this experiment. If these variables are not accounted for in any study, then the overall results would be eschewed. The hypothesis of this experiment is that patients with hypothyroid who take a specified dosage of levothyroxine and exercise daily will show changes in T4 levels, TSH levels and body weight. The objective of this study was to monitor the effects of levothyroxine in hypothyroid patients based on daily exercise workouts.