Study decodes brain's role in development of obesity

Unhealthy body fat distribution and chronic weight gain are linked to the brain's sensitivity to insulin

A new study has offered intriguing new insights into the origins of type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as the brain's function as a critical control centre.

The hormone insulin plays a key role in the development of obesity. Up until recently, there have been numerous signs indicating insulin causes neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, especially in the brain.

The latest study by the University Hospital of Tubingen, the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), and Helmholtz Munich now offers new insights.

Unhealthy body fat distribution and chronic weight gain are linked to the brain's sensitivity to insulin. What specific functions does insulin perform in the brain, and how does it affect individuals of normal weight?

In their study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, Professor Dr. Stephanie Kullmann and her colleagues at the Tubingen University Hospital for Diabetology, Endocrinology, and Nephrology found the answer to this query.

"Our findings demonstrate for the first time that even a brief consumption of highly processed, unhealthy foods (such as chocolate bars and potato chips) causes a significant alteration in the brain of healthy individuals, which may be the initial cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes," Kullmann explained.

In a healthy state, insulin has an appetite-suppressing effect in the brain.

However, in people with obesity in particular, insulin no longer regulates eating behaviour properly, resulting in insulin resistance.

In the healthy study participants, the brain shows a similar decrease in sensitivity to insulin after a short-term high calorie intake as in people with obesity.

This effect can even be observed one week after returning to a balanced diet, said researchers.

Professor Dr. Andreas Birkenfeld, the study's final author, said, "We assume that the brain's insulin response adapts to short-term changes in diet before any weight gain occurs and thus promotes the development of obesity and other secondary diseases."

He urged more research on how the brain contributes to the development of obesity and other metabolic illnesses in light of the current findings.

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