“In order to fight obesity, it is crucial to understand the brain mechanisms of odor stimulus,” said Pilar Dies-Suarez, M.D., chief radiologist at the Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. “This study has given us a better understanding that obesity has a neurological disorder component, and the findings have the potential to affect treatment of obese patients.”

According to News Medical, the area of the brain associated with impulsivity and the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder is activated in obese children when introduced to food smells, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

The researchers studied 30 children between the ages of 6 and 10 years old. Half of the children had a normal body mass index (BMI) between 19 and 24, and the other half exhibited a BMI over 30, which is classified as obese. Each child was presented with three odor samples: chocolate, onion and a neutral odor of diluted acetone. As the participants smelled the samples, two MRI techniques—functional MRI (fMRI) and functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI)—were used to measure brain activity.

Learn more about Childhood Obesity: http://bit.ly/1WvRf0c

Read the full article: http://bit.ly/1LNUh4u