The Sweet Tooth Just Got Sweeter
Study done by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine
By JACKIE MORLOCK
Updated 9:54 AM EST, Tue, Jan 6, 2009
The sweet tooth just got sweeter, especially for individuals who are obese.
Apparently, people who are obese may have to eat a lot more sweets in order to feel satisfied or rewarded, according to a study done at Pennsylvania State College.
Researchers used two different breeds of rats, one similar to obese humans -- these rats show a preference for sweet foods.
The study found that the fatty rats had a stronger response when exposed to stronger concentrations of sucrose and a weaker response when exposed to weaker concentrations.
In theory, obese rats may be eating more sweets to trigger a stronger reward sensation in their brains, researchers suggest.
Researchers also suggest this theory may be true for humans – it may take more sweets for people who are obese to feel some sense of reward sensation or satisfaction in their brain.
"When you have excess body weight, the brain is supposed to tell you not to eat more, or not choose high caloric meals…But this control apparently fails and thus the obesity epidemic is rising, and we want to find out how the sense of taste drives up food intake," said Dr. Andras Hajnal, an associate professor of neural and behavioral sciences at Penn State College of Medicine.
What the researchers did:
Electrodes were implanted into the brains of the two strains of rats who were then exposed to various tastes such as salt, citric acid, plain water, and 6 different concentrations of sucrose.
Read: Obesity and a Sweet Tooth Linked in a Vicious Cycle
First Published: Jan 6, 2009 8:23 AM EST
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