Food odours make obese children impulsive

Exposing obese children to food smells could make them impulsive, a new study shows. Food odours, especially from chocolates, can activate the area of the brain linked to impulsivity and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The study, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, shows that obesity has a neurological disorder component. Researchers said that the findings could potentially help affect current treatments for obese patients.

Obese children are at greater risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and breathing and joint problems. Obesity could persist until their adulthood.

In Australia, 25 percent of children, aged two to 17, were overweight or obese, according to the 2011–12 Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Health Survey. Children who were overweight covered 18 percent of the total population, while 7 percent were obese.

"In order to fight obesity, it is crucial to understand the brain mechanisms of odour stimulus," said Pilar Dies-Suarez, chief radiologist at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez.

The findings come from the analysis of the brain activity of 30 children aged six to 10. Half of the children had normal body mass index (BMI), and the other group were classified as obese with a BMI more than 30.

The participants were exposed to odour samples of chocolate, onion and a neutral odour of diluted acetone. Researchers used the MRI techniques, functional MRI (fMRI) and functional connectivity MRI (fcMR), to measure the children’s brain activity.

The fMRI results show that in obese children, food odours activated areas of the brain linked to impulse and the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder. No activity was observed in areas associated with impulse control.

The chocolate smell caused significant brain connections in those who were obese than the normal-weight children.

The odours delivered a different effect to the children with normal BMI. Areas of the brain linked to pleasure regulation, organisation and planning, and other regions regulating emotional processing or memory function were activated.

Onion triggered a connection between the gustatory cortex, involved in processing taste, and the brain regions involved in reward anticipation in normal-weight children. The connection did not occur in children who were obese.

"If we are able to identify the mechanisms that cause obesity, we will be able to change the way we treat these patients, and in turn, reduce obesity prevalence and save lives," Dies-Suarez said.

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