Brain, not willpower, determines whether you will lose weight or not: study
Are you trying to lose those extra kilos around your waist by dieting? Listen to your brain first because losing weight is not just a matter of will, but is actually associated with a lot more basic visual and olfactory signals, researchers have found.
The team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) discovered a neural sub-network of connected regions between the brain and gastric basal electric frequency, which correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.
The findings, published in the journal Neuroimage, support a prevalent neural theory, in which people constantly eat and gain weight, with an increased response to seeing and smelling food.
Gideon Levakov led the brain and cognitive department study, "To our surprise, we found that high executive function, measured in practice, was the major factor in weight loss, it was not reflected in the pattern of brain connectivity". Science.
Researchers identified a relationship between subnetwork and weight loss between the basal electrical rhythm of the abdomen.
This rhythm regulates gastric waves associated with hunger and satiety.
They also found that the brain's "pericylcarine sulcus", the anatomic location of the primary visual cortex, was the most active node in this subnetwork.
The team assessed 92 people during an 18-month lifestyle weight loss intervention.
Prior to the intervention, participants underwent brain imaging scans and a battery of behavioral executive function tests.
Participants were weighed six months after dieting.
The team found that the subnetworks of brain regions correspond more closely to basic sensory and motor areas rather than higher, multi-modal regions.
"It appears that visual information may be an important factor that triggers eating," says principal investigator Professor Galia Avidan. "This is appropriate, given that vision is the primary meaning in humans".
The results may have important implications for understanding the causes of obesity and the mechanism of response to diet.
Are you trying to lose those extra kilos around your waist by dieting? Listen to your brain first because losing weight is not just a matter of will, but is actually associated with a lot more basic visual and olfactory signals, researchers have found.
The team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) discovered a neural sub-network of connected regions between the brain and gastric basal electric frequency, which correlates with future weight loss based on connectivity patterns.
The findings, published in the journal Neuroimage, support a prevalent neural theory, in which people constantly eat and gain weight, with an increased response to seeing and smelling food.
Gideon Levakov led the brain and cognitive department study, "To our surprise, we found that high executive function, measured in practice, was a major factor in weight loss, not reflected in patterns of brain connectivity." Science.
Researchers identified a relationship between subnetwork and weight loss between the basal electrical rhythm of the abdomen.
This rhythm regulates gastric waves associated with hunger and satiety.
They also found that the brain's "pericylcarine sulcus", the anatomic location of the primary visual cortex, was the most active node in this subnetwork.
The team assessed 92 people during an 18-month lifestyle weight loss intervention.
Prior to the intervention, participants underwent brain imaging scans and a battery of behavioral executive function tests.
Participants were weighed six months after dieting.
The team found that the subnetworks of brain regions correspond more closely to basic sensory and motor areas rather than higher, multi-modal regions.
"It appears that visual information may be an important factor that triggers eating," says principal investigator Professor Galia Avidan. "This is appropriate, given that vision is the primary meaning in humans".
The results may have important implications for understanding the causes of obesity and the mechanism of response to diet
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