Naturally, those who eat high-fat diets are more likely to become obese. This however may be due to more than the body’s inability to process fatty foods easily. Presenting author, Joshua Thaler, and his assistants at the University of Washington Obesity Center found using rats that a high-fat diet may cause injury to neurons that are associated with body weight regulation. The notion that this cell destruction can occur gives a deeper explanation of why those who are obese have more trouble reaching a point of sustained weight loss.
After three days of giving the rats a diet with a fat content similar to the average American diet, the researchers doubled the average amount of daily calories. Over time, these rodents began to develop inflammation in the hypothalamus, which is where neurons that control body weight are located. Meanwhile, support cells called the glia and microglia began to form in the area in a process called gliosis. Gliosis usually occurs in cases of neuronal injury. Other weight-regulating neurons called POMC cells were also reduced by the eighth month within these mice.
Thaler states that the injury of these cells may not be permanent but may have an effect on those who have become obese from high fat diets.
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