In a new study researched at Australia’s University of New South Wales, states that junk food triggers obesity by changing the brains circuitry. The study done on rats, also mimics human behavior as we are both mammals who share similarities in the orbitofrontal cortex which affect the pleasurable enjoyment of our food. A phenomenon “sensory-specific satiety” causes us to seek out a variety of foods promoting a healthy, balanced diet which we have developed over time to keep us from overeating. But with junk food, this mechanism does not work! We keep wanting to eat more junk!
Junk food, which is deficient in nutrients, contains fatty acids that are associated with weight gain, tissue inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Eating junk food also increases the activity in the brain that processes the motivational control and reward behavior. When rats were tested in ‘Pavlovian type tests” for two weeks with a sound cue, those who ate junk food continued to eat more even when they were satisfied. The rats who ate healthy diets did not do this. The conclusion is the more junk food you eat the more you want. I can attest to this as it seems the more you eat chips, cookies, etc. the more you continue to want to eat more of them.
Advertisements do not help. Magazines, TV commercials, and billboards entice you to foods that might taste good, but aren’t good for you. Fast food is easily accessible in drive throughs and in grocery aisles. If you are hungry it is harder to find a place you can grab something healthy. (I keep saying I should open a healthy drive through!) It is best to take some healthy snacks with you in the car such as fruit, or nuts (organic preferably).
Junk food is packed with unhealthy fats, toxic chemicals, hormones, fillers, mystery substances and pharmaceuticals, and gross flavors like beaver butt juice. Since 1980 obesity rats have doubled! Two out of three Americans are clinically obese now. And the associated diseases are also on the rise.
In the 20th Century, 203 million people died from war including those in the military, genocide, mass murders and famines. This averages 2 million deaths per year. The World Health Organization estimates at least 2.8 million people die annually from conditions such as heart disease; stroke and diabetes are linked to being overweight or obese. Bottom line, these junk-food related issues kill 40% more than wars, famine, murder, and dictators put together!
Reworded from Food Revolution Network article