Fat affects brain's ability to control weight: study

The relationship between a high-fat diet and obesity may be more complicated than was previously thought, according to a new study unveiled at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Boston.

Eating fatty foods may injure neurons in an area of the brain that controls body weight, found researchers at the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"The possibility that brain injury may be a consequence of the overconsumption of a typical American diet offers a new explanation for why sustained weight loss is so difficult for most obese individuals to achieve," said presenting author Joshua Thaler.

Researchers studied rats and mice fed a high-fat diet - that is, one with a similar fat content to the average American diet - for periods varying between one day and eight months. A detailed analysis was then carried out on the animals' brains.

Within the first three days on the diet, the rodents were consuming nearly double the daily calories that they usually would...