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U.S.
the Journal of Clinical Investigation
hypothalamus
More than a third of adults in the U.S. are obese. And many of those already overweight continue to put on even more pounds. Now researchers have a clue why. Two new studies in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest how obesity and high-fat diets might actually alter the way the brain works, changing in particular the hypothalamus. This almond-sized area of the brain helps regulate hunger and thirst, as well as sleep and body temperature. So if it's out of whack, people can feel hungry even when they've consumed plenty. One study found that in the brains of both obese humans and obese rats, neurons around the hypothalamus were damaged by inflammation. High-fat diets have been known to promote inflammation throughout the body, but that usually takes weeks or months to appear. Changes in the brain, however, can happen fast — even within 24 hours. The second study found that mice on a fatty diet were slow to replace old neurons in the hypothalamus, which could also hamper its function. So you might consider starting 2012 by watching the ball drop — and dropping the cheese ball.
超過三分之一的美國人比較肥胖。他們大部分已經超重的仍然會持續(xù)增加體重。現(xiàn)在許多研究者已經發(fā)現(xiàn)其中的原因了。 《臨床研究》雜志上兩個最新的研究指出肥胖和高脂飲食也許會確實改變大腦工作的方式，特別是作用于下丘腦部位。大腦這塊杏仁狀區(qū)域調控我們的饑渴以及睡眠和體溫。因此如果這個部位不正常，即使已經很飽的狀態(tài)下人們仍然會感覺饑餓。 其中一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在肥胖者和肥胖的大鼠腦中，下丘腦周圍的神經元都被炎癥破壞了。高脂飲食已被證明會促進身體內炎癥反應的發(fā)生，通常炎癥反應只會持續(xù)幾周或幾個月。而腦部的改變則能夠突然的出現(xiàn)——甚至24小時內。 另一個研究則發(fā)現(xiàn)，喂食高脂飲食的小鼠，其下丘腦的老化神經元更替變慢，這同樣會阻礙下丘腦行使正常功能。 因此，你也許應該考慮一下在2012年開始遠離狂歡——并且減少奶酪之類的高熱量食物。 —Katherine Harmon -------------------------by hyjtb