Recent medical revelations show that dieting causes significant changes in the brain that may persist in the long run, in a shift that may lead a person to eat much larger quantities compared to what he used to in the past.
This scientific discovery would help researchers in the future to develop drugs that help keep the body at a healthy weight.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research and others from Harvard Medical School.
The study clarified the nature of the reactions that occur in the brain of the mouse when subjected to a diet that deprives it of the food it is accustomed to at other times.
The study found that neurons associated with sensing hunger receive strong signals in the mouse brain.
After following the diet, the mouse eats a larger amount, which makes it gain weight quickly, and then, it will have wasted a great effort it had made earlier.
In the long term, researchers may develop drugs that can control this neurological aspect, because the feeling of hunger significantly affects what we eat.
Many subject themselves to harsh diets and lose significant amounts of weight, but as soon as they stop, their condition returns to its previous state, and their obesity may worsen.
The researcher at the Max Planck Institute said that the study wanted to monitor the changes that occur in the brain in the long term under the influence of diet.
When conducting the experiment, the researchers subjected a mouse to a diet, then monitored the currents that changed at the level of its brain, so they examined the neurons known in the scientific community as “AgRP”.
These neurons are associated with sensing hunger, and when the mouse was on the diet, they sent more signals.
This increase in neuron signals can be detected even following a long period of dieting to control body weight.
