People with excess body weight, making the choice between healthy and unhealthy food, prefer the second. Dedicated to this study doctors from the University of Cambridge (UK) published in International Journal of Obesity.
Scientists also found a link between brain structure and body mass index (BMI). The latter is defined as the ratio of body weight (in kilograms) by the square of body length (in metres). For example, with a body weight of 67 kg and height 1.7 m BMI is 23.
In their study, the researchers asked the 23 respondents who are overweight and 40 persons with normal body weight to assess 50 of the snacks presented on the computer monitor, on a five-point scale, depending on their taste and nutritional characteristics.
Scientists have chosen mark on the scale corresponding to neutral estimates of dietary acceptability of a product for an individual. Then they asked each of the respondents about the willingness to shift a neutral rating on another product, for example, from granola to Apple.
The researchers then offered participants a choice of starter (without restrictions on the number and method of selection). Parties buffets, suffering from excess weight, chose less healthy foods (fatty and sweet) and much more often than healthy respondents.
In the process of adoption by the Respondent of the decision on the re-evaluation of the neutral products was carried out functional magnetic resonance imaging. In people with excess BMI … the ventromedial region of the prefrontal cortex appeared to be thinner than those who do not suffer from obesity.
In the world there are 1.3 billion people with excess body weight, of which 600 million are obese. Overweight is a leading risk factor of death worldwide, as well as the development of diabetes of the second type, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
