Can’t get rid of your junk food addiction despite repeated efforts? Perhaps the fault lies in your genes. A new research claims that some people’s brains are ‘hardwired’ to crave for high-fat foods, according to the Daily Mail.
The study, which was conducted by researchers from the Imperial College London, have found that two genetic variants – FTO and DRD2 – can lead certain people to intensely crave for unhealthy foods. The researchers also go on to say that these variants can also affect the levels of dopamine, which is a chemical in the brain that regulates the reward sensation. They evaluated 45 European Caucasian males who had been fasting overnight for the study. After that they were asked to look at pictures of both high- or low-calorie foods and then rate how appealing they felt the pictures were.
They them evaluated the brain activities of their participants using a brain scanning technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (Fmri) and even took a DNA sample from each of them. It was discovered that the study participants with a cariant near FTO gene – which predisposes a person to obesity – showed more activity when viewing high-calorie foods in the orbitofrontal cortex part of their brain. This meant that these people found high-calorie foods more attractive than low-calorie options. The findings of this study were presented at the Obesity Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.
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