Obesity: Chips and chocolate quickly change the brain

This is suggested by a joint study by the University Hospital Tübingen, the Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD). Obesity , which has been recognized as an independent disease in Germany since 2020, is referred to as Body mass index of more than 30. Lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet are often considered to be the cause. The mechanisms behind the pathological However, obesity is more complex.

It is known that the insulin sensitivity of the Brain activity is linked to long-term weight gain and unhealthy body fat distribution. In healthy individuals, insulin suppresses appetite; in obesity, this regulation no longer functions properly. The researchers led by Professor Dr. Stephanie Kullmann of the Tübingen University Clinic for Diabetology, Endocrinology, and Nephrology wanted to use this study to determine which processes take place in the brain.

For the study, 29 male subjects of normal weight were divided into two groups. Participants in one group consumed an additional 1,500 kcal daily in the form of highly processed, high-calorie snacks such as chips and chocolate bars for five consecutive days, in addition to their normal diet, and then returned to their normal diet. The control group ate without the additional calorie bombs. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers determined the effects of insulin on the brain.

Even after the short-term increase in calorie intake, the participants' brains showed a similar decrease in insulin sensitivity to that seen in people with obesity. The effect was even observed one week after returning to a balanced diet. The researchers assume that the brain's insulin response adapts to short-term dietary changes even before weight gain occurs.

"Our results show for the first time that even short-term consumption of highly processed, unhealthy foods can lead to serious changes in the brain of healthy people, and that this may be the starting point for obesity and type 2 diabetes," explains the study leader. Based on these results, the researchers call for more intensive research into the influence of the brain on the development of obesity and other metabolic diseases.