Childhood obesity can be triggered by changes in the brain's reward system, leading to a vicious cycle of overeating.

Researchers at Yale University have studied the brains of more than 5,000 children using a new MRI technique that detects inflammation in certain areas of the brain that are associated with food..

Scientists have found that a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens is especially active in certain children when they eat unhealthy foods.. After a year, they were overweight and continued to gain it..

Study author Richard Watts and colleagues believe that children who eat unhealthy foods can develop brain inflammation, which then dims the sensations they experience from sugary or unhealthy foods later on.. This tolerance for taste makes them eat more, creating a “vicious cycle of eating bad food.. who wants more and more "

Using a new MRI technique called Restriction Spectrum Imaging, the scientists examined the microstructure and density of cells in the nucleus accumbens, an area of \u200b\u200bthe brain involved in reward motivation and eating behavior.. The researchers found that the higher the density of cells in the nucleus accumbens, the larger the baby's waist circumference..

“An even more impressive finding was that cell density in this area predicted an increase in waist circumference and BMI after one year,” writes Cristina Rapuano, a Yale psychology graduate student and first author of the study, published in Proceedings of the.

Previous animal studies have shown that a diet high in saturated fat can lead to inflammation in the brain and an increase in brain glial cells..

They support the function of neurons in the nucleus accumbens, and an increase in these cells can cause compulsive eating in animals..

“It's a vicious circle. Eating bad food leads to craving for more bad food. Our data provides a possible explanation for the brain mechanism of childhood obesity, ”said BJ Casey, professor of psychology and co-author of the study..

Casey noted that rates of childhood obesity worldwide have quadrupled over the past 40 years, in part due to the greater availability of unhealthy food..

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