Mice on high-fat diet grow four times as many cells in one part of the brain Change occurs in weeks Mice with new cells put on more weight than others - even if both are on high-fat diet Growth of 'tanycyte' cells - also found in humans
By Rob Waugh
PUBLISHED: 09:52 EST, 26 March 2012 | UPDATED: 09:52 EST, 26 March 2012
Cream tea? High-fat diets pile on weight around the midriff - but in mice at least, they seem to cause 'growth' inside the brain
High-fat diets pile on weight around the midriff - but in mice at least, they also seem to cause 'growth' inside the brain.
Sadly, a diet of cheeseburgers won't make you more intelligent - the new cells trigger weight gain.
Mice with the new cells packed on weight far faster than other mice - even when both were on the same high-fat diet.
The finding could offer an insight into how the brain controls weight gain through eating and hunger.
It could even open new avenues into understanding the factors that trigger obesity.
It's not clear whether the same process is at work in humans - but if so, the finding could also offer an avenue for anti-obesity treatments.
See more here:
Eating fatty foods makes the brain GROW - but the new cells seem to tell the body to put on even more weight
