- Feb 5, 2002
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FAST FOOD AND JUNK CALORIES CAUSE SERIOUS COGNITIVE ISSUES IN MICE — AND POSSIBLY IN PEOPLE AS WELL.
In some unfortunate medical news, it turns out that eating lots of delicious calorie- or sugar-rich snacks and junk foods can likely lead to neurological and cognitive impairments later in life.
A massive literature review by University of Southern California, Los Angeles scientists pulled the results from dozens of mouse studies found that a high-calorie, high-fat diet — dubbed the “Western diet” in research circles — early on in life was linked to worsened memory, increased anxiety-like behavior, and other cognitive problems. All of these issues seemed to be totally separate from the well-documented impacts that a Western Diet has on weight, metabolism, and overall health, according to the review, which was published earlier this year in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, suggesting that diet can have a far bigger impact on neurological health and development than previously thought.
Specifically, the review found that mice eating a Western diet during the early stages of life that are important for development worsened anxiety and memory function, regardless of weight gain. It also led to an increase in addiction-like behaviors, as the mice grew to crave the sugary and high-fat foods, alongside a decrease in social behaviors.
The idea behind the review is that the Western diet can function as a proxy for an Americanized diet heavy in snacks, sodas, and other unhealthy foods, the UCLA researchers wrote in their paper.
Continued below.
Mice Fed Fast Food Get Noticeably Stupider, Scientists Warn
In some unfortunate medical news, it turns out that eating lots of delicious calorie- or sugar-rich snacks and junk foods can likely lead to neurological and cognitive impairments later in life.
A massive literature review by University of Southern California, Los Angeles scientists pulled the results from dozens of mouse studies found that a high-calorie, high-fat diet — dubbed the “Western diet” in research circles — early on in life was linked to worsened memory, increased anxiety-like behavior, and other cognitive problems. All of these issues seemed to be totally separate from the well-documented impacts that a Western Diet has on weight, metabolism, and overall health, according to the review, which was published earlier this year in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, suggesting that diet can have a far bigger impact on neurological health and development than previously thought.
Specifically, the review found that mice eating a Western diet during the early stages of life that are important for development worsened anxiety and memory function, regardless of weight gain. It also led to an increase in addiction-like behaviors, as the mice grew to crave the sugary and high-fat foods, alongside a decrease in social behaviors.
The idea behind the review is that the Western diet can function as a proxy for an Americanized diet heavy in snacks, sodas, and other unhealthy foods, the UCLA researchers wrote in their paper.
Continued below.
Mice Fed Fast Food Get Noticeably Stupider, Scientists Warn