- Researchers report that regions of the brain are larger in young adults with obesity and other weight issues.
- They say inflammation in the brain may influence appetite and hunger.
- Experts say you can reduce inflammation in the body by eating a healthy diet with fewer fats and processed foods.
The hypothalamus, a small region in the brain, was significantly larger in young adults who had obesity or were overweight in a new study published in the journal Neuroimage: Clinical.
Researchers also reported there was a significant relationship between the volume of the hypothalamus and body mass index (BMI) among study participants.
The hypothalamus works as a
The researchers pointed out that previous research on animals shows that there are interacting pathways between the hypothalamus and other cell populations acting together in the brain’s “appetite control center” to tell us when we are hungry and when we are full.
The researchers suggest that inflammation may play a role in these brain relationships.
For example, they explain that previous animal studies show that high-fat diets cause inflammation of the hypothalamus and can lead to insulin resistance and obesity.
Some
The researchers employed an algorithm that used machine learning to analyze scans of 1,351 young adults with a range of BMI scores. They found that the hypothalamus was significantly larger in those with obesity or overweight.
The researchers did not determine whether the inflammation is a cause or consequence.
“We knew the hypothalamus was involved with hunger,” said Dr. Mir Ali, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in…
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