According to the latest study conducted in Panama, something really harmless like watching food adverts on television may activate a sequence reaction in the brain that may result in obesity.
The most important international scientists dealing with obesity have hailed the research as a breakthrough in the understanding of weight problems. ‘This research constitutes evidence that merely looking at junk food can set in motion a chemical process in the brain that results in (or may worsen) weight problems,’ explained Dr Juan Transfacio, president of the South American Anti-Obesity Guild.
The research was published in the April issue of the journal Fatt. The scientists claim that images of rich fatty foods release a neurotransmitter known as lardomine. For reasons that are still not exactly clear, the lardomine floods an area of the brain called the medial hypothalamus.
According to the head of scientists, Diego Gorda, head of neurology at Noriega University, lardomine blocks leptin receptors in this area of the brain. ‘Leptin is necessary for the organism to control food consumption. However, with the lardomine blocking the leptin receptors in the brain, the organism is left rudderless and begins to compensate by storing as much fat as possible,’ he explained.
How the research was carried put
The scientists divided volunteers from the state prison in Panama City into two groups. One of them was shown black and white films from the 20s, whereas the second group was shown fast food adverts from the biggest American network. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the investigators tracked the brain activity of the participants while exposed to various visual incentives.
‘Whenever a Big Mac or a Crispy Cream emerged on screen, we saw a considerable upsurge of brain activity in the hypothalamus,’ Gorda said.
One confusing finding from the research, though, is that the result appears to be much stronger in left-handed people. Although the investigators could not explain this phenomenon, they supposed that it may suggest that the brains of left and right-handed people differ in particular basic ways.
Color in opposition to. black-and-white
In a second stage of the research, the scientists discovered that color images appear to activate a more serious release of lardomine than do black and white images. They supposed that this may be caused by the fact that food in nature is usually colorful.
‘The brain does not correlate black and white images with food,’ Gorda explained. He speculated that it may be clever to set your television to black and white in the course of peak advertising hours.
Gorda and his colleagues are also in the process of creating special weigh-less spectacles. Gorda claims that the glasses will include filters blocking out particularly high-risk colors. ‘You can wear them to the cantina or to the corner shop, wherever you require protection,’ he said.
Nevertheless, he did warn that his work is merely a part of the puzzle. ‘You still have to eat enough vegetables and be sure you get enough physical activity. There are various quick fix notions out there, but you need to approach this problem holistically," he explained.
