Something have thechipsto provoke thatwhen a bag is opened we cannot stop eating until we finish it. German scientists have studied the pattern of activity triggered by this food in the brain and have determined thatthe reason why they are irresistible to us is not only because of their high fat and carbohydrate content, as was believed until now.
In a study published in February in the journalPLOS ONEAccording to the SINC agency, the scientists analyzed brain activation in rats fed potato chips and rats fed bland standard food. And now, the same researchers have presented the results of their latest studies, which complement the previous one, at the 245th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society. “We have extended the study to a third group of rats fed a mixture of fats and carbohydrates in proportions similar to those of French fries,” explains Tobias Hoch, researcher at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany) and lead author of the work.
The results of the MRIs showed that lPotato-fed animals experienced increased activation of brain regions related to the reward system, food intake, sleep, and motor areas. In addition, these rats reacted much more than those fed standard food or the mixture of fats and carbohydrates, which shows that the addictive effect of potato chips cannot be explained solely by their caloric content, as previous studies suggested. “In future research we will trydetermine which compound in potato chips causes these reactionsin the brain ”says Hoch.
According to Hoch, the fact that some people are not attracted to these foods is that “possibly the intensity with which the reward systems are activated in individuals varies depending on their taste.” The researcher is convinced that if science manages to reveal the component that activates the brain’s reward circuitnutrients could be developed that when added to these foods inhibit their effect. “It would help block this attraction to snacks and sweets,” says Hoch.
