All Articles Tagged As: appetite

Researchers find clues to why some continue to eat when full (1/1/2010)

New research in mice by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists suggest that ghrelin might also work in the brain to make some people keep eating "pleasurable" foods when they're already full. ...> Full Article

To eat or not to eat? Mental budgets help control consumption (11/21/2009)

If you feel like you're in a losing battle with a triple-chocolate cake, a "mental budget" can help, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. ...> Full Article

Researchers identify new brain pathway for regulating weight and bone mass (9/28/2009)

Contrary to the prevailing view, the hormone leptin, which is critical for normal food intake and metabolism, appears to regulate bone mass and suppress appetite by acting mainly through serotonin pathways in the brain, according to a recent study published in Cell by Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues at Columbia University. This new finding contradicts the view that leptin acts primarily in the hypothalamus. ...> Full Article

Researchers pinpoint the mechanisms of self-control in the brain (5/4/2009)

Study of dieters shows how two brain areas interact in people with the willpower to say no to unhealthy foods ...> Full Article

Optical illusions: Variety makes us perceive smaller quantities (4/3/2009)

Here's another reason why dieters should avoid all-you-can-eat buffets: When faced with a large variety of items, consumers tend to underestimate how much of each item is present, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. ...> Full Article

Exercise suppresses appetite by affecting appetite hormones (12/15/2008)

A vigorous 60-minute workout on a treadmill affects the release of two key appetite hormones, ghrelin and peptide YY, while 90 minutes of weight lifting affects the level of only ghrelin. The research shows that aerobic exercise is better at suppressing appetite than nonaerobic exercise and provides a possible explanation for how that happens. This line of research may eventually lead to more effective ways to use exercise to help control weight. ...> Full Article

Molecule shuts down food intake and turns on 'siesta mode' (11/29/2008)

Researchers have identified a molecule that tells your brain when it's time to push back from the Thanksgiving table. In studies with mice and rats, researchers found that a chemical messenger called NAPE is made in the small intestine after a greasy meal, then travels to the brain, where it quashes hunger signals. Rats treated with extra NAPE ate less and lost weight. ...> Full Article

New study finds obese women more impulsive than other females (11/12/2008)

Obese women display significantly weaker impulse control than normal weight women ...> Full Article

Blunted activation of brain reward circuitry increases risk for future weight gain (10/17/2008)

New evidence that blunted activation of brain regions when eating is related to current and future weight gain in young females. ...> Full Article

Too many calories send the brain off kilter (10/4/2008)

An overload of calories throws critical portions of the brain out of whack ...> Full Article

New master switch found in the brain that regulates appetite and reproduction (9/1/2008)

A master switch has been found in the brain of mice that controls fertility and body weight ...> Full Article

Killer carbs - Scientist finds the key to overeating as we age (8/23/2008)

A Monash University scientist has discovered key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerate over time, causing increased hunger and potentially weight-gain as we grow older. ...> Full Article

Brain plays key role in appetite by regulating free radicals (8/3/2008)

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found the brain's appetite center uses fat for fuel by involving oxygen free radicals-molecules associated with aging and neurodegeneration. The findings, reported in the journal Nature, suggest that antioxidants could play a role in weight control. ...> Full Article

Morbid thoughts whet the appetite (6/28/2008)

Can watching TV news or crime shows trigger overeating? According to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who are thinking about their own deaths want to consume more. ...> Full Article

Brain Protein May Impact Eating Habits (4/13/2008)

Researchers have found that a protein in the brain may have some significant influence on the ability to feel full. ...> Full Article

Brain's 'sixth sense' for calories discovered (3/29/2008)

The brain can sense the calories in food, independent of the taste mechanism, researchers have found in studies with mice ...> Full Article

New findings about the brain lead to treatment for eating disturbances (3/13/2008)

The discovery of the brain's so-called melanocortin system and its central role in controlling appetite has paved the way for entirely new possibilities for treating obesity and anorexia. ...> Full Article

Study examines response of older, younger adults to thirst (1/22/2008)

Twelve healthy subjects in their 60s and 70s showed a different pattern of brain activations during thirst and satiation than did 10 healthy subjects in their 20s who drank the same amounts and underwent imaging with positron-emission tomography (PET). Dysfunction in activated neural regions could help explain why older adults show the dangerous tendency toward reduced drinking in response to dehydration. ...> Full Article

Aggression as rewarding as sex, food and drugs (1/15/2008)

New research from Vanderbilt University shows for the first time that the brain processes aggression as a reward - much like sex, food and drugs - offering insights into our propensity to fight and our fascination with violent sports like boxing and football. ...> Full Article

Obesity research boosted by watching hunger in the brain (11/14/2007)

Scientists can now measure how full or hungry a mouse feels, thanks to a new technique which uses imaging to reveal how neurons behave in the part of the brain which regulates appetite. ...> Full Article

Brain Circuits That Control Hunger Identified (10/31/2007)

Researchers have determined the brain circuits involved in hunger that are influenced by a hormone called leptin. In previous clinical trials, supplementation of leptin, the signaling molecule produced by fat cells, produced moderate weight loss in some obese patients, purportedly by inhibiting hunger and promoting feelings of being full. Thus, this new work suggests possible new targets for treating obesity. ...> Full Article

Brain scans reveal circuits that control food intake (10/19/2007)

Scientists have identified the circuits that 'decide' how much people eat. Using live brain scanning techniques and an innovative design study, researchers have discovered how the brain controls food intake in humans. ...> Full Article