Overweight People Face Changes in Dopamine and This Impacts Their Physical Activity Trends: Research

Most overweight people know that it is not easy to shed that extra weight and a new research has suggested that changes in dopamine could be the reason behind difficulty to get rid of sedentary lifestyle. For people who are overweight, it is difficult to exercise and with changes in brain chemicals, it can be concluded that they face even tougher battle against extra weight. The research was conducted by a team at National Institutes for Health (NIH) and has been published in prominent journal Cell Metabolism. The research team conducted their experiment on lab mice and noticed difference between physical activity of overweight and normal weight mice.

People make resolutions to reduce their weight or engage in regular exercise. However, most of the New Year resolutions don’t last more than two weeks. It is difficult for overweight people to pull themselves and exercise regularly. The NIH research has just offered a scientific reason behind failure of most overweight and obese individuals to control their weight. It needs regular check on food intake and regular exercise. It is a tough battle but overweight people should be well prepared in case they want to reduce their weight.

The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has suggested that a chemical imbalance in brain makes is really difficult for overweight individuals to raise their level of physical activity or exercise. The research team found that diet-induced obesity leads to changes in functioning of brain. People in this category might have a higher tendency to move less compared to people who have ideal weight. The study might require more research to be conducted on the subject. Also, medical community should consider additional guidelines and suggestions for overweight people to manage their weight.

Overweight leads to many other health complications. High blood pressure, heart ailments, diabetes and even cancer have been termed as side effects of extra weight. It also reduced physical activity among individuals and leads to joint problems in middle and old age. The current study also suggests that it becomes even more difficult for people with higher BMI to reduce their extra weight.

The NIH study was conducted on lab mice. The research team found that obesity leads to changes in dopamine. Dopamine is brain chemical which impacts our mood, motor control and appetite. Many people make New Year resolutions to shed extra weight. And, research has suggested that most of the resolution related to weight control or higher physical activity are broken within first couple of weeks of New Year. NIH study team found changes in brains of overweight mice. Overweight mice became couch potatoes. The research team controlled the DR2 receptor using a drug, to control impact on lean and overweight mice.

The study has been published in journal Cell Metabolism. Sedentary lifestyle has been blamed in combination with high calorie, high sugar diet for obesity issues in United States and many other countries.

However, when researchers altered brain receptor’s activity in lean mice, they noticed lower physical activity among them as well. This didn’t result in higher weight among lean mice. The changes induced in brain receptor’s activity of obese. Exercising and regular physical activity are considered among the top ways to shed extra weight but physical activity is usually found low among people in overweight and obese categories.

Physical activity has been termed as an easy way to reduce weight but the current research suggests that it will be very difficult for overweight people to increase their activity. So, the best way to keep weight under check will be to go for all-round attack on obesity. This should include gradual improvement in physical activity combined with check on diet.

Study senior author Alexxai Kravitz, investigator in the diabetes, endocrinology, and obesity branch of the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases said, "We know that physical activity is linked to overall good health, but not much is known about why people or animals with obesity are less active. There's a common belief that obese animals don't move as much because carrying extra body weight is physically disabling. But our findings suggest that assumption doesn't explain the whole story."

"Other studies have connected dopamine signaling defects to obesity, but most of them have looked at reward processing -- how animals feel when they eat different foods," Kravitz said.

"We looked at something simpler: Dopamine is critical for movement, and obesity is associated with a lack of movement," he said. His team wondered if problems with dopamine signaling alone could explain the inactivity.