Discovered the difference in the structure of the brain in people with normal and overweight

Appetite control centers in the brains of obese and overweight people differ from those of normal weight people. The study found that the hypothalamus in people with a higher body mass index (BMI) is “significantly larger”.

A new study suggests that the brains of obese and overweight people have different appetite control centers than those of people with less weight, reports Sky News.

The researchers say their results provide additional evidence for a link between brain structure and weight and food intake.

Nearly two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, according to the Office for Better Health and Inequality.

This increases the risk of developing health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke, cancer, and poor mental health.

Researchers say how much people eat and what they eat is influenced by several factors, including genetics, hormonal regulation, and the environment in which they live.

However, it is not entirely clear what happens to the brain to tell us whether we are hungry or full, notes Sky News.

Past research has shown that the hypothalamus – a small region of the brain about the size of an almond – plays an important role.

Dr Stephanie Brown, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, says: “Although we know that the hypothalamus is important in determining how much we eat, we actually have very little direct information about this area of ​​the brain in living people. This is because it is very small. , and is difficult to see on conventional MRI scans of the brain.”

Professor Paul Fletcher, senior author of the study, also from the Cambridge Department of Psychiatry, says: “The last two decades have given us important information about appetite control and how it can be altered in obesity. Metabolism researchers from Cambridge have played a leading role in this. Hopefully, by applying this new approach to analyzing brain scans on large datasets, we can further extend this work to humans, ultimately linking these subtle brain structural data to changes in appetite and food intake and creating a more complete understanding of obesity.”

Most of the evidence for the role of the hypothalamus in appetite regulation comes from animal studies, which point to complex interacting pathways within the hypothalamus where different populations of cells work together to tell us when we are hungry or full.

To get around this, the researchers used an algorithm developed using machine learning to analyze brain scans taken from 1,351 young adults across a range of BMI measures.

The scientists looked for differences in the hypothalamus when comparing underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese people, Sky News continues.

According to the data obtained, the total volume of the hypothalamus was significantly larger in groups of young people with overweight and obesity.

Researchers describe a significant relationship between hypothalamic volume and body mass index (BMI).

The differences were most evident in areas of the hypothalamus that control appetite through the release of hormones that balance hunger and satiety.

Although the exact meaning of this finding is unclear, the researchers suggest that one explanation is that the change is due to inflammation. Previous animal studies have shown that a high-fat diet can cause inflammation of the hypothalamus, which in turn leads to insulin resistance and obesity.