Losing weight doesn’t work: Fat people’s brains work differently

Obese people often suffer. under her weight. But also under the prejudices that are brought against them. For example, they are labeled as lazy, as undisciplined. However, a new study shows that the topic of losing weight is about much more than mere willpower or endurance.

Study: Overweight people’s brain reacts differently

In general, the following applies: “Food intake depends on the integration of complex metabolic and neuronal signals between the brain and several organs, including the intestine and nutritional signals in the blood.” Communication . “This network triggers feelings of hunger and satiety, regulates food intake and the motivation to search for food.”

The scientists examined the brain activity of 30 overweight people and compared it with that of 30 people of normal weight. They administered specific nutrients to the subjects – and came to the following conclusion: ” Our results suggest that individuals with obesity experience long-lasting brain adaptations that may impact eating behaviors. “

They found that obese individuals released less dopamine in an area of ​​the brain important to the motivational aspect of eating, compared to healthy-weight individuals. Dopamine is involved in the rewarding feelings of eating.

“Taken together, these results suggest that the perception of gastrointestinal nutrients and/or nutritional cues is reduced in obesity, which could have profound implications for food intake,” said study author Mireille Serlie, senior researcher and professor of endocrinology at the Amsterdam UMC. ” The fact that these brain responses are not restored after weight loss may explain why most people regain weight after an initial successful weight loss .” The team published its results in the journal “Nature”.

Being overweight is life-threatening

Obesity is the main cause of lost years of healthy life. The widespread disease affects millions of German adults, is by no means a phenomenon of prosperity and does not stop at children. Experts, such as those of the World Health Organization or the German Obesity Society (DAG) speak of an “epidemic”, of “one of the greatest threats to public health“. Why obesity is so dangerous, why it affects so many – and how we can counteract it.

When am I overweight?

Obesity is a lot more than a few extra pounds on your hips. The DAG defines it as a chronic disease, as “an increase in body fat that goes beyond normal levels.” This is classified using the body mass index (BMI).

Why is obesity so dangerous?

What makes the disease dangerous is that it itself “is a cause for the development of serious secondary diseases such as Heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and at least 13 different types of cancer “ is, as DAG board member Hans Hauner explains. According to the study, overweight and obesity are the leading cause of healthy years of life lost to disease in Europe: 13 percent of deaths are due to a high BMI. People with obesity also have

• life expectancy reduced by about five years
• an approximately nine-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes
• a more than two-fold increased risk of developing coronary artery disease and
• an approximately two-fold increased risk of COVID-19-related hospitalization or mortality

than people of normal weight.

In addition, obesity causes an estimated 63 billion euros in economic costs in Germany – about half of which is direct (due to health and treatment costs) and half indirectly (due to lost work or early retirement).

How many Germans are affected?

The DAG gives the following figures for Germany:

From the adults are

• 60 percent overweight and
• 25 percent obese.

Of the children and young people are

• 15 percent overweight and
• 6 percent obese.

In addition, at the end of 2022, a small inquiry by the Union in the Bundestag revealed that around 13 million adults nationwide suffer from obesity.