Regular consumption of these foods activates a special gene that makes the body accumulate fat reserves. If this goes on long enough, your metabolism is transformed, and fat is accumulated much more rapidly, the researchers say.
The experts from several US research laboratories have carried out a series of experiments with laboratory mice. The researchers monitored how the consumption of certain foods influenced the animals. They found that products with a high fat and sugar content could promote the so-called kappa opioid receptors involved in lipid metabolism. The activity of these receptors for a sufficiently long period of time leads to the development of obesity, which is extremely problematic to fight.
The mice were divided by the researchers into two groups; in one of the groups the genetics deprived the rodents of kappa opioid receptors. Within four months, the animals were fed with high-calorie fatty and sugary foods and weighed regularly. As a result, the doctors noticed that the mice with the receptors had got much fatter, while genetically modified animals had not changed.
Scientists believe that people should be cautious about fatty and sweet dishes due to the nature of kappa receptors. Their action makes the body accumulate fat mass more intensively; this mechanism has developed in the course of evolution.
The specialists explain that at the times when food was scarce, our bodies fought hunger by preserving all the energy that it could get from a hearty meal. But now, this mechanism only harms people as it promotes weight gain and strong obesity.
