I stumbled across the following discussion about AMPK activation, it is very interesting. Here is the link:

http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.php?2,251240,252442

There is background and discussion of the benefits of metformin (which most of us cannot get as we don't have diabetes) and natural alternatives.

My take-away is that our sedentary lifestyle and abundance of food (and I would add- the wrong kind of food) are not good in the long run.