Hormonal
Adiposity (BMI, body fat percentage) is not significantly correlated with the magnitude of postingestive striatal dopamine response to ultra-processed foods, contradicting the hypothesis that obesity blunts this response.
Your body fat percentage does not determine how much your brain releases dopamine when you eat. This study found no link between being overweight and a 'blunted' dopamine response. This is encouraging: it means your brain's reward system is not permanently damaged by your weight, and you can influence your food preferences and intake through behavioral strategies.
highly variable interindividual responses were not significantly related to adiposity (BMI: r=0.076, p=0.51; %body fat: r=0.16, p=0.28).
Why this rating
Large sample size for a PET study, wide BMI range, robust statistical analysis.
Source
Brain dopamine responses to ultra-processed milkshakes are highly variable and not significantly related to adiposity in humans
Valerie L. Darcey et al. · medRxiv · 2024
DOI 10.1101/2024.06.24.24309440
More from this paper
- Consuming ultra-processed milkshakes high in fat and sugar does not produce a statistically significant average increase in postingestive striatal dopamine release in healthy adults, refuting the hypothesis that such foods elicit drug-like dopamine responses.Good
- Individual variability in dopamine response to ultra-processed milkshakes is associated with perceived hunger and hedonic ratings (pleasantness, wanting), but not with adiposity or glycemic response.Moderate
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →