High-fat diet can rewire brain to crave sweets

New evidence suggests that regularly consuming a high-sugar, high-fat diet can condition the brain to seek out sweets.

The study's findings were published in the journal Cell Metabolism on Wednesday (March 21). The dopaminergic system is a part of the brain that regulates motivation and reward. The result is a mental shift towards craving junk food.

The Western diet is notoriously high in fat and sugar, and it has been debated whether or not this unhealthy dietary preference is innate or acquired.

According to the latest research, picking processed foods is a taught behavior. Marc Tittgemeyer, PhD, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research and the study's co-lead, said that the study shows that short-term daily consumption of a high-fat diet with high-sugar snacks reduces preference for a low-fat food. It also rewires brain reward circuits to enhance response to palatable food.

---

High-fat diet can teach brain to want unhealthy foods

New research suggests that craving processed foods could be a taught behavior (Image via Pexels/Pixabay)

Researchers examined the impact of several dietary treatments on 49 participants' bodyweight, metabolic status and overall dietary patterns in an effort to better understand the factors that drive people to consume a high-fat diet.

They gave one half of the group custard loaded with sugar and fat for eight weeks. Although one group received low-fat custard, the other received a low-carbohydrate diet.

Throughout the trial, the researchers monitored the participants' brain activity. They discovered that those who consumed the high-fat custard had a more robust brain reaction to sweet and fatty foods.

A diet high in fat can make the brain crave more sweets (Image via Pexels/Arminas Raudys)

In particular, activity in the dopaminergic system indicated that the reward circuits in the brain shifts to favor a high-sugar and high-fat diet.

Tittgemeyer explains that when we have foods high in fat and sugar, 'the so-called dopaminergic midbrain', a region of the brain critical to controlling reward responses and motivational drive, gets activated. Simultaneously, the brain reduces its dopamine production for low-fat foods, devaluing the healthiest options.

Those who consumed the unhealthy custard saw no increase in weight, blood sugar or cholesterol. This group's continued penchant for a high-fat diet and high-sugar foods is worrying experts, as it may put them at more risk for binge eating, which can lead to weight increase and metabolic dysfunction.

Clinical dietician at Stanford Health Care, Elaine Hon, RD, warns that having an excessive amount of foods high in fat can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.

An increased craving of sweets can cause you to eat more sweets. (Image via Pexels/Teejay)

Researchers pointed out that those already at a higher genetic risk may be even more vulnerable, but it can affect anyone, regardless of how healthy they may be.

Moreover, the results "suggested that even normal-weight people who are exposed to a high-fat diet may adapt to overeating by decreasing their choice for low-fat items," Hon added.

---

New evidence suggests that regularly consuming high-sugar, high-fat foods can condition the brain to seek out sweets. By stimulating the dopaminergic system, which is in charge of motivation and reward, high-fat and high-sugar foods make the brain want more of the same.