Do you always crack in front of a candy or a chocolate cake? Many are in the same situation as you. As the 2007 national INCA survey shows, in France, the average sugar consumption is between 95 g and 100 g per day. A number well above the recommended 25g daily by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Numerous studies have also already demonstrated the health dangers of a diet that is too sweet or too fatty. Junk food increases the risk of obesity, heart failure, etc.hypertension, type 2 diabetes and de cancer. Yet, even if we know these risks, we continue to turn to this type of food. According to a recent study, this is not necessarily linked to a lack of willpower.
Research conducted by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, in collaboration with Yale University, reveals that foods high in fats and sugarsconsumed regularly, modify our brain to make it dependent. This study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism on March 22, 2023.
In just 8 weeks, the brain associates junk food with a reward
Researchers are interested in how our brain can be shaped by our eating habits. Sharmili Edwin Thanarajah, author of the study, explains: “Our tendency to eat foods high in fat and sugarthe so-called Western diet, might be innate or develop as a result of being overweight. But we think the brain learns that preference.”
To reach these conclusions, the researchers classified the volunteers in 2 groups. The first had to consume every day, in addition to his usual diet, a pudding high in fat and sugar. The other group also had to eat a pudding daily, but this time low in fat and sugar. The experiment lasted 8 weeks, during which participants’ brain activity was measured.
During this observation, the researchers detected that the brain response to foods high in fat and sugar was significantly increased in the group that ate the high-fat pudding. Thus, the daily consumption of fatty food for 8 weeks activated the dopaminergic system. This is the region of the brain responsible for motivation and rewardwhich releases dopamine (happiness hormone) in the body.
Daily consumption of junk food retrains the brain
The researchers concluded that consuming junk food daily might affect our brain to make it addicted and make us like this type of food more than another. “Our measurements of brain activity showed that the brain rewires itself through the consumption of crisps and other fatty and sugary foods. He unconsciously learns to prefer rewarding foods. Thanks to these changes in the brain, we still subconsciously prefer foods that contain lots of fat and sugar“, summarizes Marc Tittgemeyer, who led the study.
Dana Small, also author of the study, explains: “Let’s say that a new bakery opens next to your work and that you start stopping there for a pastry every morning. That may be enough rewire your basic dopamine learning circuits.“
