Biomed Radio - Washington University School Of Medicine In St. Louis

As young people reach adulthood, their preferences for sweet foods typically decline. But for people with obesity, new research suggests that the drop off may not be as steep and that the brain’s reward system is operating differently in obese people than in thinner people, which may play a role in this phenomenon. AS WE GET OLDER, WE TEND TO HAVE LESS OF A PREFERENCE FOR SWEET THINGS. DURING THAT SAME TIME IN LIFE, THE NUMBER OF A PARTICULAR TYPE OF DOPAMINE RECEPTOR IN OUR BRAINS BEGINS TO DECLINE, AND THERE IS A STRONG RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RECEPTORS, AGE AND SWEET TASTE PREFERENCES IN PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE OBESITY. BUT SCIENTISTS AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN ST. LOUIS HAVE FOUND THAT THINGS DON’T WORK THAT WAY IN PEOPLE WHO DO HAVE OBESITY. JIM DRYDEN HAS THE STORY… WHEN WE EAT, OUR BRAINS RELEASE CHEMICALS THAT MAKE US FEEL GOOD, AND WHEN WE EAT SOMETHING REALLY GOOD, THE SAME THING HAPPENS, ONLY MORESO. A BRAIN CHEMICAL CALLED DOPAMINE IS WHAT MAKES US FEEL GOOD, AND TO MEASURE DOPA