If you’re worried about gaining weight, exercise may help – and not just by burning calories. Exercise may strengthen the brain’s ability to resist high-calorie foods such as potato chips and chocolate bars in favour of more healthful options.
It’s an idea being explored by Dr. Cassandra Lowe, a postdoctoral fellow of the University of Western Ontario’s BrainSCAN program: How to tackle obesity by improving the brain’s dietary decision-making.
In a recent review article, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Lowe and her colleagues examined the relationship between obesity and the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain involved in planning and inhibitory control. That relationship, they reported, appears to be reciprocal; people who have reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex are more likely to overeat highly processed, calorie-dense foods. In turn, overeating these foods changes their brains to increase the likelihood of overeating.
To disrupt this cycle, she is among a number of scientists who are looking at ways to boost activity in the prefrontal cortex to regulate food consumption, from exercise to brain-training activities to brain stimulation. Their research suggests the future of treating and preventing obesity may include targeting the brain, not just the stomach.
“It’s really important the prefrontal cortex is considered when thinking of preventative measures because there are many ways executive functions can be improved,” Lowe says, adding exercise appears to be one of the best.
Not only do people who engage in regular exercise tend to have better executive functioning, she says, exercise has shown to change the structure and function of brain regions, such as the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.
Lowe intends to study whether exercise can increase brain activity in adolescents as an early preventative measure against obesity.
