Scientists have offered us yet another explanation why we gain excessive weight. It turned out that the propensity to adiposity is proportionally linked to how much of dopamine is produced in our “feel good” brain zone. Dopamine levels affect how much pleasure we get out of tasty food. Low dopamine levels make us less satisfied with appetizing food so we need more food to achieve the sense of pleasure, which increases the chance of becoming obese, the scientists from University of Oregon say.
Researchers observed 76 females aged 14-27 years old each of whom was tested for Taq1a1 gene variant that is known to be linked with lower dopamine receptors in the brain. Scientists first gave the examinees a chocolate milkshake and then a tasteless beverage at the same time using a special equipment to scan the activity of their brain’s pleasure center.
As a result, the researches were able to establish the link and gave exact forecast as to who among the examinees would gain excessive weight.
According to the head of research team Dr. Eric Stice, though we’ve heard a lot lately about the fact that obese people tend to get less pleasure from food and to compensate the need simply eat more, this research provided the first scientific evidence to back up the assumption.
The findings were published in Science Magazine.
Source of the image: goalspark.com.
