Childhood Junk Food Rewires Appetite Center, Gut Bacteria Offer Reset
TL;DR
In a mouse study, early-life exposure to a high-fat, high-sugar diet permanently shifts hypothalamic appetite pathways and adult feeding behavior even after weight normalizes; however, interventions targeting the gut microbiome—probiotic Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 or prebiotic fibers FOS/GOS—can restore brain–gut signaling and mitigate these long-term effects, with some sex-specific vulnerabilities observed.
- Childhood Diet Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Brain Neuroscience News
- Study suggests toddlers' ultraprocessed diets at age two linked to lower IQ Medical Xpress
- Childhood exposure to poor food can lead to lasting changes in brain function The Irish Times
- Scientists Reveal Common Foods Linked to Lower IQ in Children Newsweek
- Unhealthy diet early in life has ‘lasting effect on brains’, with children now bombarded by junk food ads The Irish Independent
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