Learn how fructose affects our appetite.

Over the past 30 years adult obesity in America has more than doubled to affect around 78 million people.

A new study from Yale University shows that intake of fructose can change the way your brain reacts to feeling full, which may be contributing to the epidemic of obesity.

The subjects of the study were 20 healthy adults that were hooked up to Magnetic Resonance Imaging while the researchers measured changes to the blood flow in the hypothalamus region in the brain that controls thirst and hunger.

The results show that glucose intake can decrease the blood flow to the part of the brain that controls appetite and makes you feel full, while fructose does not, which can lead to a higher intake of calories and weight gain.

Fructose is added to foods and beverages, and is derived from sugar cane, beets, and corn.

Robert Sherwin, a professor at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut told the San Francisco Gate “If you don’t turn off the areas of the brain that are driving you to eat, you have a tendency to eat more than you would.”

What do you think? Is fructose a factor in causing obesity?