Obesity causes brain damage

WifeMomDVM

As one person already commented on the article - it would have been nice if the author found out what type of high fat diet the mice and rats were fed. We already know certain fats are inflammatory and others are anti-inflammatory. Still, an interesting article and thought I would share.

Obesity Linked to Brain Damage
Inflammation found in hypothalamus, which controls appetite and weight

Jessica Berman
.....
Photo: Reuters
Scientists have found that injury to brain cells in the hypothalamus plays a role in obesity. .Researchers are beginning to understand why lasting weight loss is so hard. They believe it has to do with damage to the part of the brain that’s involved in weight control.



If obese people stop overeating, switch to a healthful diet and start exercising, they lose weight. However, they may quickly gain it back again. The reason, say researchers, is not a lack of willpower but injury to brain cells, or neurons, in the hypothalamus - a structure deep in the brain that helps control a number of body functions including appetite and weight.

The notion that brain damage might play a role in body weight is not a new one, according to Michael Schwartz of the Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Scientists have known for about five years that the hypothalamus of overweight animals - including humans - displays inflammation, a typical reaction to injury.

But researchers, led by Schwartz, wanted to determine the role hypothalamus injury plays in obesity, and they had several questions they wanted to answer:

“Is it simply a consequence of becoming obese or does it occur before the obesity occurs?" says Schwartz. "And what could be driving that response? What is causing the inflammatory response and could that have something to do with the obesity itself?”

Schwartz’s team put laboratory mice and rats on a high-fat diet to make them gain weight. When they looked for evidence of inflammation in their brains, they made a startling discovery.

“We were frankly shocked to realize the inflammation became apparent within 24 hours of the switch in diet,” says Schwartz.

The researchers also saw evidence of a strong and rapid neuro-protective response, as cells were activated to repair the damaged neurons. But the animals were kept on the high-fat diet for nine months and the inflammation eventually returned.

The key message, according to Schwartz, is that it’s not the fault of people who try and fail repeatedly to lose weight through dieting.

“Our data would point to a more structural, biological basis for why it is difficult to keep weight off," he says. "It has to do with damage to the brain area that is responsible for controlling body weight.”

Schwartz says that also explains why drugs are not effective at helping people achieve lasting weight loss. The compounds currently available do not target what appears to be the underlying cause of obesity.



http://www.voanews.com/english/news/health/Obesity-Linked-to-Brain-Damage-136591358.html

Yanicka1

Interesting.

TourThePast

Interesting stuff. Also, a news article that actually points out that there are still questions to be answered and that more research is necessary, instead of going for the knee jerk big headlines, it's a miracle!

While I'm not in the least surprised to learn about the possible link between a high fat diet and brain damage causing obesity in mice, I bet if you stuck them on a wheel, they'd lose weight. :bigsmile:

Bottom line is, whether you've got this brain damage or not, the only way to lose weight is to eat less and more sensibly than you (secretly or not) really want to, preferably with exercise thrown in too.

Yes it takes willpower, the advantage we have over mice is that we can educate ourselves of the dangers of obesity and choose to take action that is not our first instinctive one, i.e. eating everything in sight!

andiimarie

Perhaps I am reading this incorrectly but the sentence that says "Scientists have found that injury to brain cells in the hypothalamus plays a role in obesity..." is actually in general terms implying that brain injury plays a role in obesity, not the other way around as you have stated, "obesity causes brain damage."

I admit I didn't read the the article thoroughly because this contradiction made me stop at that point.

sofaking6

Perhaps I am reading this incorrectly but the sentence that says "Scientists have found that injury to brain cells in the hypothalamus plays a role in obesity..." is actually in general terms implying that brain injury plays a role in obesity, not the other way around as you have stated, "obesity causes brain damage."

I admit I didn't read the the article thoroughly because this contradiction made me stop at that point.

They said that implementing a high-fat diet caused inflammation in the neurons so I guess that mirrors an injury?