FILE - A photo illustration of crisps on Feb. 16, 2018, in London, England. (Photo illustration by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
OSAKA, Japan - A recently-published study aims to understand better why eating just one potato chip is so difficult. Turns out, it may have to do partly with genetics.
High-calorie foods, or those high in fat, oil, and sugar, can be tasty but often cause overeating — which can lead to obesity and other health problems, experts say. But a study by researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan aimed to find out what, exactly, in the brain causes overeating.
RELATED: Foods we're leaving behind in 2022
A gene called CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 1, or CRTC1, has been linked to obesity in humans, the study authors said. When a group of mice had CRTC1 deleted from their genes, they became obese — indicating that functioning CRTC1 suppresses obesity, the team said.
However, since CRTC1 is expressed in all neurons in the brain, the specific neurons responsible for suppressing obesity — and the mechanism by which the suppression works in those neurons — remained unknown.
This browser does not support the Video element.
5 facts about competitive eating
Here are five facts Reader's Digest compiled on the world of speed eating:
The study team, led by Associate Professor Shigenobu Matsumura at Osaka Metropolitan University, focused on neurons expressing the melanocortin-4 receptor, or MC4R.
The researchers hypothesized that CRTC1 expression in MC4R-expressing neurons suppressed obesity because mutations in the MC4R gene are known to cause obesity. To test this, they used a strain of mice that expresses CRTC1 normally — except in MC4R-expressing neurons where it’s blocked — to examine the effect on obesity and diabetes.
When fed a standard diet, the mice without CRTC1 in MC4R-expressing neurons showed no changes in body weight, compared to control mice, the study authors found.
But when the CRTC1-deficient mice were given a high-fat diet, they overate and became significantly more obese than the control mice and developed diabetes.
Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have revealed that a particular gene, called CRTC1, mediates the obesity-suppressing effects of melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) by regulating appetite for fats and oils, high-fat diet metabolism, and blood suga …
"This study has revealed the role that the CRTC1 gene plays in the brain, and part of the mechanism that stops us from overeating high-calorie, fatty and sugary foods," Matsumura, head of the study’s research team, said in a statement.
"We hope this will lead to a better understanding of what causes people to overeat," Matsumura added.
The study results were published on Nov. 9 in the FASEB Journal.
RELATED: Childhood BMI chart raised from 37 to 60 as severe obesity quadruples
This story was reported from Cincinnati.