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Sun, Jun-24-07, 12:10
Feeling flat? Chew the fat
June 20, 2007 12:00am
Herald Sun
GORGING on fatty comfort food really can make a stressed person feel better, tests on rats have shown.
Stressed rodents were able to experience pleasure more easily if they ate high-fat foods, research from the University of NSW found.
This could explain why some people over-eat when under stress, and may even partially explain the obesity epidemic, said researcher Prof Margaret Morris.
"If it's true that societal levels of stress are increasing, and if people are turning to food in response to that stress, then it may be a small component of why we're experiencing more obesity," she said.
Prof Morris tested the theory by separating baby rats from their mothers soon after birth.
Tests using a sugar drink showed that these stressed rats were less able to sense pleasure than rats who hadn't been separated.
These unhappy rats were then placed on either a regular rat diet or an unhealthy Western diet with 30 per cent fat.
"It appears that the fatty diet almost counters the traumatic experience of the separation," Prof Morris said.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21934749-24331,00.html
June 20, 2007 12:00am
Herald Sun
GORGING on fatty comfort food really can make a stressed person feel better, tests on rats have shown.
Stressed rodents were able to experience pleasure more easily if they ate high-fat foods, research from the University of NSW found.
This could explain why some people over-eat when under stress, and may even partially explain the obesity epidemic, said researcher Prof Margaret Morris.
"If it's true that societal levels of stress are increasing, and if people are turning to food in response to that stress, then it may be a small component of why we're experiencing more obesity," she said.
Prof Morris tested the theory by separating baby rats from their mothers soon after birth.
Tests using a sugar drink showed that these stressed rats were less able to sense pleasure than rats who hadn't been separated.
These unhappy rats were then placed on either a regular rat diet or an unhealthy Western diet with 30 per cent fat.
"It appears that the fatty diet almost counters the traumatic experience of the separation," Prof Morris said.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21934749-24331,00.html