According to researchers from The Rockefeller University in New York City, high-fat diets trigger the brain to produce proteins that may alter eating behaviors and body weight in laboratory animals and lead to obesity.
High-fat diets raise the levels of fats known as triglycerides circulating in the blood. According to the research, these triglycerides seem to stimulate genes in the brain to produce several chemicals. These chemicals in turn produce proteins, which may interfere with the feeling of fullness and alter fat storage.
In a study of young normal-weight rats fed an abnormally high-fat diet, a rat's production of elevated triglyceride levels served as a marker of the animal's later tendency to become obese. The researchers identified two of these "fat-responsive" proteins as orexin and galanin, which were overexpressed in rats with a tendency to gain weight when put on this high-fat diet.
A single high-fat meal is sufficient to stimulate the brain
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