A new research report indicates that a diet high in fat and sugar may actually activate genes that cause the human body to store excessive amounts of fat. So, in addition to adding extra calories to a diet, high-fat and high-sugar foods may actually turn the body into a "supersized fat-storing machine."

These foods stimulate an opioid receptor known as the kappa opioid receptor, which helps to regulate fat metabolism. Stimulating this receptor causes the body to store much more fat than it would normally.

Traci Ann Czyzyk-Morgan, one of the researchers involved in the work, said, "The data presented here support the hypothesis that overactivation of kappa opioid receptors contributes to the development of obesity specifically during prolonged consumption of high-fat, calorically dense diets."

The report recently appeared in the online Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

(Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

Labels: obesity, diet, fat

Posted By: Aspen Education Group