The sweet spot

Dessert stomach is real, and findings can help tackle obesity

- VAISHALI DAR

Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne, Germany, have discovered that the 'dessert stomach' is rooted in the brain. The nerve cells that make us feel full after a meal are responsible for these cravings for sweets afterwards. The researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne have recently conducted a study on mice where the findings reveal the reaction of mice to sugar and found that completely satiated mice still ate desserts.

What happens to humans? The scientists carried out brain scans on volunteers who received a sugar solution through a tube. They found that the same region of the brain reacted to the sugar in humans. In this region, as in mice, there are many opiate receptors close to satiety neurons.