Regaining weight after a diet comes from the brain and more particularly from dopamine.
- Regaining weight after a diet comes from the brain.
- People who have been obese or overweight release less dopamine during food intake.
- Dopamine is a small molecule produced by some of our neurons in connection with the satisfaction of a need and the feeling of pleasure.
Losing weight is hard, but once you’ve reached your goal, keeping it off can also be very hard. But why ? This is the question answered by researchers in a study recently published in the journal Nature metabolism and relayed by JAMA Network : it would be due to the brain.
Overweight people release less dopamine when eating
According to scientists, the brain responses to nutrients are not the same in obese or overweight people as in others. Indeed, the former release less dopamine in a region of the brain when they eat, compared to those of normal weight. And, even when they have lost weight, people who have been obese or overweight continue to have lower brain responses to nutrients than others.
To arrive at these results, the researchers studied how 30 obese people responded to nutrients by comparing them to 30 participants who were not overweight. Their brain activity – and therefore the release of dopamine – was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and scanners.
“Our results show that lasting brain changes occur in obese people, which could affect their eating behavior, says Mireille Serlie, author of the study, in a communicated. We found that obese people released less dopamine in an area of the brain important for the motivational aspect of food intake compared to [aux participants qui avaient un poids normal]. Dopamine plays a role in reward sensations related to food intake.”
The brain, responsible for weight gain after a diet
Dopamine is a small molecule produced by some of our neurons in connection with the satisfaction of a need, a desire and the sensation of pleasure, according to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). In other words, when they eat, obese or overweight people have less satisfaction than those who have a normal weight.
The researchers also observed that a 10% loss in body weight (after a 12-week diet) was insufficient to restore brain responses in obese people. “The fact that these responses in the brain are not restored after weight loss may explain why most people regain weight after [un régime] initially successful“, concludes Mireille Serlie.
