New neuroscience discovery could make it much easier to maintain weight after weight loss

Miscellaneous / by admin / April 03, 2023

Hunger control is taken to a new level.

Weight retention after weight loss is a tough fight. The hormonal, metabolic, and neural factors that regulate body weight will test your willpower every day. However, new opening scientists can significantly facilitate this struggle.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolic Research (MPIMR) and Harvard Medical School have identified significant changes in the nerve synapses in the brain that occur during dieting.

Much stronger signals are sent to the nerves that affect the feeling of hunger. Suppressing these signals could help scientists develop treatments that help people maintain their weight.

Scientists notedthat one of the most frustrating aspects of losing weight is the yo-yo effect of calorie restriction when people, dieters regain half of their lost pounds within two years and about 80% after five years. This is often seen as a personal failure and can have lasting physical, emotional and psychological consequences.

In a new study, the scientists decided to see if they could somehow control it. They put mice on a diet and monitored brain activity, focusing on agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons in the hypothalamus that control hunger. Previous research has shown that stimulation of these neurons leads to a dramatic increase in food intake.

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In the new work, the scientists found that neuronal synapses to AgRP increased when the animals were on a diet, and remained at these heightened levels, leading to extreme hunger signals and with it more consumption food.

“This work improves understanding of how neural circuits control hunger. Previously, we discovered a key set of ascending neurons that physically connect with AgRP hunger neurons and excite them. In our current study, we found that the physical neurotransmitter connection between these two neurons in a process called synaptic plasticity increases significantly with diet and weight loss, and this leads to prolonged excessive hunger.

Bradford Lowell

Study co-author from Harvard Medical School

And when the researchers suppressed the communication between these neurons, AgRP activity decreased, and the animals had a more regulated response to food intake. Not surprisingly, this resulted in significantly less weight gain.

Scientists believe that their study will provide an opportunity to reduce the notorious yo-yo effect. In the long term, the researchers' goal is to find treatments for people that could help maintain weight loss after the diet. To achieve this, they will continue to study ways to block the mechanisms that amplify nerve impulses.