MUSC News

The conversation surrounding adolescent obesity has long been dominated by a familiar refrain: “Eat less, move more.”

We tend to treat weight as a simple equation of diet, lifestyle and willpower. However, a recent study challenges this conventional wisdom by looking directly at the mechanics of the adolescent brain. The reality of obesity is more complex than what’s on a teenager’s plate and may be linked to differences in how brain regions communicate.

The study found that adolescents with obesity show altered communication between brain regions involved in appetite regulation, reward and decision-making.

“I think it highlights that obesity is a neurologic disease,” said the author of the study, Marc-Andre Cornier, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases at MUSC, about the study findings.

The conversation surrounding adolescent obesity has long been dominated by a familiar refrain: “Eat less, move more.” We tend to treat weight as a simple equation of diet, lifestyle and willpower. However, a recent study challenges this conventional wisdom by looking directly at the mechanics of the adolescent brain.