2023-06-17 04:41:09
A new study finds that weight loss is not only dependent on medication and personal will, but has more to do with how the brain responds to food.
In the study published in the journalNitrogen MetabolismIt turns out that the brain’s response to food may make a big difference in some people’s struggle to maintain weight loss.
The study found that the brain responds to nutrients differently in obese people, even after significant weight loss.
The researchers studied 60 participants, over the age of 40. Half of them were diagnosed with obesity and the other half did not.
Different solutions containing glucose, fat, or water alone were instilled directly into the stomachs of the participants on separate days. Brain responses were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging scans approximately 30 minutes after the solutions were injected. The researchers also measured hormonal levels in the blood and the degrees of hunger reported by the participants.
The results showed that the non-obese group of participants had appropriate activation of reward centers in the brain in response to nutrients, and conversely, these same brain regions were not activated in the obese participants.
This finding did not change after repeat testing three months later in obese participants, even after they lost some 10 percent of their weight due to the diet.
Experts say this lack of response to reward can lead to overeating and make it difficult to change eating habits that can contribute to weight gain.
Experts also stress that these results do not guarantee that a person with obesity cannot lose weight and maintain this weight, but despite this, they hope that the results will help in treatments that target obesity.
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