Scientists have revealed why we emphasize each food, especially donuts, candies, and chocolate bars.
Researchers in Australia say that when people are full, regions of the brain activate to block reward signals from food and signal them to stop eating.
But in experiments with stressed mice, the team found that this region remained silent, prompting the rodents to keep eating for pleasure. Mice in the stressed group gained twice as much weight as mice in the non-stressed group.
Scientists said the study highlights the importance of following a healthy diet, especially if you’re suffering from chronic stress.
Australian researchers warn that stress can encourage comfort eating (stock image)
Harvet Herzog, Ph.D., Eating Disorders Researcher at the Sydney-based Garvan Institute of Medicine, said:Our findings reveal that stress can override the natural brain response that reduces pleasure from eating. This means that the brain is continuously rewarded for the food it eats.
“When chronic stress is combined with a high-calorie diet, we tend to eat more and more and prefer sweet, highly palatable foods, which can promote weight gain and obesity.” I have shown that I am capable.”
“This study highlights how important a healthy diet is during times of stress.”
In a study published in today’s journal neuronThe scientists divided the mice into two groups and monitored how much food they ate.
Each was fed the same high-fat diet for a short period of time and was allowed to eat as much as they wanted.
One group of mice was placed in a laboratory environment and the other group was exposed to chronic stress.
Scientists aren’t sure how they accomplished this, but in previous cases, mice were hung by their tails for long periods of time until they stopped struggling. This repetitive process causes chronic stress.
The researchers found that mice in the stressed group gained twice as much weight as unstressed mice on the same diet.
They found that when mice were stressed, a region of the brain known as the lateral habenula nucleus, located next to the thalamus, was silenced.
In unstressed mice, satiety triggered this region, signaling them to stop eating.
However, in chronically stressed individuals, this region was not activated by satiety, prompting them to continue eating.
The scientists also performed a “sucralose palatability test” to confirm the results.
At this time, the mice were given two choices: drinking water or artificially sweetened water.
They found that stressed mice consumed three times more sucralose than mice fed only a high-fat diet.
At the center of this response, researchers said, is a molecule called NPY, which the brain produces naturally in response to stress.
When the researchers blocked NPY in mice stressed with a high-fat diet, they ate less comfort food and lost weight.
Dr Herzog adds, “In stressful situations, it’s easy to use up a lot of energy, and feeling rewarded can make you feel calmer.”
“At times like this, replenishing energy with food can help.
“However, when stress is experienced over a long period of time, the equation shifts and encourages a diet that is bad for you in the long term.”
“This study highlights just how much stress can impair healthy energy metabolism,” he added.
“This is a reminder to avoid a stressful lifestyle, and if you’re dealing with long-term stress, it’s important to try to eat healthy and stay away from junk food. “
The scientists didn’t consider other factors that could cause stress binge eating in mice, such as disrupted sleep schedules.
It was unclear whether the results of these experiments in mice directly apply to humans.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council funded this study.
