According to a new study, it is because of brain chemistry humans notice food easily and noticing eventually turns out in overeating.
Researchers analyzed the brain of healthy, non-obese young men to determine the activity of dopamine in the striatum region of the brain, which is sensitive to food reward. They found that dopamine activity was associated with how quickly people noticed a food picture hidden among neutral pictures. And, those who noticed food pictures also ate more.
“We do know that in human obesity the striatal dopamine system is affected, but interestingly enough we know little about the striatal dopamine system of young, healthy individuals and how it relates to the motivation to eat,” said Susanne la Fleur from the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam,
Ordinarily the burst of dopamine during a rewarding activity is eventually stopped when it is re-absorbed into the cells it came from. That re-uptake process requires a brain chemical called “dopamine transporter” (DAT).
Brain chemistry makes you Overeat
