New research from the University of Adelaide in Australia, however, notes that people who become obese are even less likely to keep the weight off due to a damaged switch in the stomach that tells the brain it’s full. In other words, even though an obese person loses weight and begins eating less, their brains never register that their stomachs are full and satiated.

This research highlights two key components about obesity: As noted in prior research, obesity can be a vicious cycle of hunger and health risks. Second even after a person loses weight, this faulty switch will continue to urge a person to eat more and return to a high-fat diet.

“The stomach’s nerve response does not return to normal upon return to a normal diet. This means you would need to eat more food before you felt the same degree of fullness as a healthy individual,” explains study leader Amanda Page, associate professor and the university’s Nerve Gut Research Laboratory.

According to Page, the hormone leptin is responsible for desensitizing the nerves in the stomach which relay information to the brain. After being subjected to high-fat diets for long periods of time, this hormone essentially wears away at the stomach nerves and stops regulating food intake. In a healthy person’s stomach, leptin works to let the brain know the stomach has received enough food. This change, says Page, occurs once high-fat diets are introduced and isn’t reversed once a person changes their diet and loses weight.

“Unfortunately, our results show that the nerves in the stomach remain desensitized to fullness after weight loss has been achieved,” said Page. “We know that only about 5% of people on diets are able to maintain their weight loss, and that most people who’ve been on a diet put all of that weight back on within two years.”

It’s not yet known if this effect is long-lasting or if the leptin eventually returns to its normal function.

Obesity Can Be Programmed Through High-Fat Diets – Health News – redOrbit