The Study | The Findings | What should you do? | Takeaway

We all know what food choices we should make, but why are the “unhealthy” options so tempting? A study finds that it’s because of how your brain is wired.

Processed foods are easy to find, easy to eat, and easy to please. These foods populate almost all shelves in shops and supermarkets, especially in the West.

But retailers aren’t to blame, you are. Or more specifically, your mind.

Today, we look at a study that investigates neural responses to food cues and how you can take back control over your eating habits to lose fat effectively.

Researchers aimed to investigate brain activity in lean and obese individuals in response to food cues.

A food word reactivity task was used to mimic mental processes when making food choices.

There were 29 participants, 17 were obese and 12 lean.

Whilst participants of the study carried out this task, their brains were scanned (using fMRI) to monitor activity.

The food word reactivity task was carried out twice, once after participants were subject to a stressor. This was to gauge how obese and lean individuals respond to food in stressful situations.

The study had some interesting observations, helping us understand how our brains work in the context of food.

Food Focused

Both lean and obese individuals had increased brain activity in regions associated with attention and self-regulation.

In addition, they all had reduced activity in default mode regions (a region of the brain that has a higher activity at rest) when exposed to food compared to non-food cues.

This means humans place a greater importance on food overall. It’s where our attention is naturally directed.

Lack of impulse control

Obese individuals said they had a lower want for food.

But at the same time, in comparison to lean individuals, they had less activation in regions of the brain associated with self-regulation.

Meaning they struggle with impulse control.

This signifies that even when obese individuals aren’t hungry, they will still eat because they simply feel like doing so.

A potential reason why the obese group ate more than the lean group in the study.

We like high-calorie foods

The study compared brain responses to high-energy-density foods versus low-energy-density foods.

Both lean and obese individuals said they wanted the calorific foods more.

However, obese individuals had greater brain activation in areas related to emotion, reward, and sensory processing in response to calorific foods.

That is, people with obesity had a greater desire to consume high-calorie foods in comparison to lean individuals.

Stress and food

Interestingly, at the group level, stress didn’t have an impact on appetite. However individual responses varied.

Some obese individuals who experienced higher stress levels showed an increase in appetite, indicating a potential link between stress and overeating.

Brains of binge eaters

Binge eaters (a sub-population of the obese group), had greater activation in emotion and reward areas of the brain, as well as reduced activation of self-regulation circuits in response to food cues.

That combination of brain activity explains why certain people have a higher likelihood of binge eating.

Whether brain activity in response to food is genetic or environmental, I do not know.

But what I do know is that you can take back control.

I used to be obese, and a binge eater, but I’m not anymore. Yet the tendency is still there.

What’s changed is how I react.

I’m able to recognize the activation of the reward circuit in my mind in response to food.

Instead of giving in to my impulses, I take a moment to stop, and then actively do the opposite.

This is easier said than done. It won’t happen overnight, but months or years of self-correcting behavior will enable you to do the same.

What’s important is making a start.

Start by keeping a food diary or tracking calories. Everything you eat must be logged.

Doing so will help you identify where changes can be made, and it’ll also help with self-accountability.

Read Cutting Concepts if you want to learn more about nutrition, as well as training, cardio, and supplementation. Or consider coaching for a more personalized experience.

Understanding how your brain works in response to food can help change your eating habits.

Food causes an increase in areas associated with attention and reward in the brain.

It also causes increased activation of areas associated with self-regulation.

Obese individuals experienced greater activation in the reward areas of the brain in response to food. At the same time, they exhibited signs of less self-control (in comparison to lean individuals).

Over time, learn to rewire your brain and control your impulses.

The best way to start is by logging your food intake.

Source:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0271915