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[메디컬투데이=이승재 기자] Research findings have shown that a Western diet high in fat and sugar has a negative effect on brain development in children and adolescents.
The results of a mouse study examining the effects of a Western-style diet on brain development were published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
The human brain develops and changes throughout life. Childhood and adolescence are periods when the human brain undergoes significant growth. If the nervous system receives harmful stimuli during this period, brain growth may not occur properly.
American researchers studied the effect of the Western diet on brain development in children and adolescents based on experiments on mice. The mice in the experimental group were able to freely consume foods high in fat and sugar, chips, peanut butter and high fructose corn syrup. On the other hand, control mice could only consume standard food and water.
When the mice became adults, the researchers conducted a memory test on place memory. As a result of the study, mice in the experimental group showed significantly lower memory and cognitive abilities than mice in the control group.
The researchers found that parts of the brain were damaged by the high-fat, high-sugar diet, with particularly noticeable damage to the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a region of the brain that plays a key role in learning and memory.
After analyzing the hippocampus of mice, the level of “acetylcholine”, a neurotransmitter important for learning, memory, attention and awakening, was found to be low in the hippocampus of mice in the experimental group.
The researchers explained that these findings suggest a link to Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.
Furthermore, even though they switched to a healthy diet as adults, the brain damage in the mice in the experimental group was not repaired.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that a Western diet high in fat and sugar has a negative effect on brain development in children and adolescents.
Medical Today Video Editing Team (press@mdtoday.co.kr)
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