Nutriovia

Obesity has only been officially recognized as a disease in Germany only since 2020, despite the fact that it has been known for a long time to cause a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart attacks and even cancer. The World Health Organization has already said that obesity was an epidemic, affecting more than a billion people worldwide and nearly 16 million in Germany. A body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese, and poor diet and insufficient exercise are frequently mentioned as the causes of this chronic disease. However, the mechanisms of the body which lead to obesity and cause the disease are more complex.

Obesity and insulin role in the brain

The unhealthy distribution of body fats and chronic weight gain are linked to the sensitivity of the brain to insulin. What specific functions does insulin perform in the brain and how does it affect normal weight individuals? In their study, Professor Stephanie Kullmann and his colleagues at the Tübingen University Hospital for diabetology, endocrinology and nephrology found the answer to this request. “Our results demonstrate for the first time that even a brief consumption of highly processed and unhealthy foods (such as chocolate bars and crustles) causes significant alteration of the brain of healthy individuals, which can be the initial cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes”, explains Professor Kullmann, the chief of the study. In a healthy state, insulin has a suppression of appetite in the brain. However, in people with obesity in particular, insulin no longer properly regulates eating behavior, resulting in insulin resistance. “Interestingly, in our participants in healthy study, the brain shows a similar decrease in insulin sensitivity after a short -term contribution to high caloric as in people with obesity,” explains Ms. Kullmann. “This effect can even be observed a week after returning to a balanced diet,” she adds. She is also deputy chief of the Metabolic Neuroimagery department of DZD Partner Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Munich at the University of Tübingen.

Concentrate on the brain

Professor Andreas Birkenfeld, Medical Director of Internal Medicine IV, director of the member of the IDM and DZD board of directors, and the final author of the study, concludes: “We assume that the response to brain insulin adapts to short -term changes in the diet before any weight gain and thus promotes the development of obesity and other secondary diseases.” He urges more research on how the brain contributes to the development of obesity and other metabolic diseases in the light of current results.

Short period with large -scale effects

29 male volunteers of average weight participated in the study and were divided into two groups. For five consecutive days, the first group had to complement their regular diet with 1500 kcal of highly transformed snacks and rich in calories. Additional calories were not consumed by the control group. The two groups underwent two separate examinations after an initial assessment. An examination was carried out immediately after the five -day period, and another was carried out seven days after the first group resumed their regular diet. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the material content of the liver and sensitivity to brain insulin. Not only did the fatty content of the liver of the first group increased significantly after five days of increasing calorie contribution. Surprisingly, significantly lower insulin sensitivity in the brain compared to the control group also persisted a week after returning to a normal diet. This effect had previously been observed only in obese people.

Obesity has only been officially recognized as a disease in Germany only since 2020, despite the fact that it has been known for a long time to cause a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart attacks and even cancer. The World Health Organization has already said that obesity was an epidemic, affecting more than a billion people worldwide and nearly 16 million in Germany. A body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese, and poor diet and insufficient exercise are frequently mentioned as the causes of this chronic disease. However, the mechanisms of the body which lead to obesity and cause the disease are more complex.

Obesity and insulin role in the brain

The unhealthy distribution of body fats and chronic weight gain are linked to the sensitivity of the brain to insulin. What specific functions does insulin perform in the brain and how does it affect normal weight individuals? In their study, Professor Stephanie Kullmann and his colleagues at the Tübingen University Hospital for diabetology, endocrinology and nephrology found the answer to this request. “Our results demonstrate for the first time that even a brief consumption of highly processed and unhealthy foods (such as chocolate bars and crustles) causes significant alteration of the brain of healthy individuals, which can be the initial cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes”, explains Professor Kullmann, the chief of the study. In a healthy state, insulin has a suppression of appetite in the brain. However, in people with obesity in particular, insulin no longer properly regulates eating behavior, resulting in insulin resistance. “Interestingly, in our participants in healthy study, the brain shows a similar decrease in insulin sensitivity after a short -term contribution to high caloric as in people with obesity,” explains Ms. Kullmann. “This effect can even be observed a week after returning to a balanced diet,” she adds. She is also deputy chief of the Metabolic Neuroimagery department of DZD Partner Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Munich at the University of Tübingen.

Concentrate on the brain

Professor Andreas Birkenfeld, Medical Director of Internal Medicine IV, director of the member of the IDM and DZD board of directors, and the final author of the study, concludes: “We assume that the response to brain insulin adapts to short -term changes in the diet before any weight gain and thus promotes the development of obesity and other secondary diseases.” He urges more research on how the brain contributes to the development of obesity and other metabolic diseases in the light of current results.

Short period with large -scale effects

29 male volunteers of average weight participated in the study and were divided into two groups. For five consecutive days, the first group had to complement their regular diet with 1500 kcal of highly transformed snacks and rich in calories. Additional calories were not consumed by the control group. The two groups underwent two separate examinations after an initial assessment. An examination was carried out immediately after the five -day period, and another was carried out seven days after the first group resumed their regular diet. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the material content of the liver and sensitivity to brain insulin. Not only did the fatty content of the liver of the first group increased significantly after five days of increasing calorie contribution. Surprisingly, significantly lower insulin sensitivity in the brain compared to the control group also persisted a week after returning to a normal diet. This effect had previously been observed only in obese people.

Obesity has only been officially recognized as a disease in Germany only since 2020, despite the fact that it has been known for a long time to cause a number of diseases, including diabetes, heart attacks and even cancer. The World Health Organization has already said that obesity was an epidemic, affecting more than a billion people worldwide and nearly 16 million in Germany. A body mass index of 30 or more is considered obese, and poor diet and insufficient exercise are frequently mentioned as the causes of this chronic disease. However, the mechanisms of the body which lead to obesity and cause the disease are more complex.

Obesity and insulin role in the brain

The unhealthy distribution of body fats and chronic weight gain are linked to the sensitivity of the brain to insulin. What specific functions does insulin perform in the brain and how does it affect normal weight individuals? In their study, Professor Stephanie Kullmann and his colleagues at the Tübingen University Hospital for diabetology, endocrinology and nephrology found the answer to this request. “Our results demonstrate for the first time that even a brief consumption of highly processed and unhealthy foods (such as chocolate bars and crustles) causes significant alteration of the brain of healthy individuals, which can be the initial cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes”, explains Professor Kullmann, the chief of the study. In a healthy state, insulin has a suppression of appetite in the brain. However, in people with obesity in particular, insulin no longer properly regulates eating behavior, resulting in insulin resistance. “Interestingly, in our participants in healthy study, the brain shows a similar decrease in insulin sensitivity after a short -term contribution to high caloric as in people with obesity,” explains Ms. Kullmann. “This effect can even be observed a week after returning to a balanced diet,” she adds. She is also deputy chief of the Metabolic Neuroimagery department of DZD Partner Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Munich at the University of Tübingen.

Concentrate on the brain

Professor Andreas Birkenfeld, Medical Director of Internal Medicine IV, director of the member of the IDM and DZD board of directors, and the final author of the study, concludes: “We assume that the response to brain insulin adapts to short -term changes in the diet before any weight gain and thus promotes the development of obesity and other secondary diseases.” He urges more research on how the brain contributes to the development of obesity and other metabolic diseases in the light of current results.

Short period with large -scale effects

29 male volunteers of average weight participated in the study and were divided into two groups. For five consecutive days, the first group had to complement their regular diet with 1500 kcal of highly transformed snacks and rich in calories. Additional calories were not consumed by the control group. The two groups underwent two separate examinations after an initial assessment. An examination was carried out immediately after the five -day period, and another was carried out seven days after the first group resumed their regular diet. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the material content of the liver and sensitivity to brain insulin. Not only did the fatty content of the liver of the first group increased significantly after five days of increasing calorie contribution. Surprisingly, significantly lower insulin sensitivity in the brain compared to the control group also persisted a week after returning to a normal diet. This effect had previously been observed only in obese people.