Obesity May Promote Changes in the Human Brain

Researchers with the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at the American University, led by director Terry Davidson, found in a new study that exposure to highly-saturated fats and refined sugars effected a series of changes in the brains of rats.

The same type of effect may occur in the human brain as well. According to the team, the unhealthful products actually modified brain chemistry to the point where the rodents were desiring more of the harmful substances.

The reason why this finding is important is because obesity is already an omnipresent problem in the developed world, especially in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. In the former, 67 percent of the population is overweight or obese, PsychCentral reports.

“It is a vicious cycle that may explain why obesity is so difficult to overcome,” explains Davidson, whose research is detailed in a paper published in the scientific journal Physiology & Behavior.