A starved brain will begin to consume its own cells – specifically those cells used to control hunger and appetite, thus dooming so many diets to failure, according to a new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.
According to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, a lack of food causes the brain to undergo a process called autophagy – where cells reallocate nutrients from unnecessary processes to more essential ones.
This causes the body to release some of its fat stores, but also triggers the brain chemical that stimulates hunger, dooming dieters to feel more starved than they actually are.
Dr. Rajat Singh, one of the study authors, hopes that the research could be used to develop new dieting drugs that interfere with the autophagy process, thereby making dieting easier by causing the body to burn more fat.
The research may also help to explain why people tend to eat less as they grow older, since the body becomes less efficient at autophagy over time.