Understanding why you can't stop at eating just one potato chip

#molecularbiology #genes #nutrients #nutrition #physiology #potatochips #overeating #obesity

High-calorie foods—high in fat, oil, and sugar—can taste good but often cause overeating, leading to obesity and major health problems. But what stimulates the brain to cause overeating?

Recently, it has become clear that a gene called CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 1 (CRTC1) is associated with obesity in humans. When CRTC1 is deleted in mice, they become obese, indicating that functioning CRTC1 suppresses obesity. However, since CRTC1 is expressed in all neurons in the brain, the specific neurons responsible for suppressing obesity and the mechanism present in those neurons remained unknown.

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