According to a recent study, high-fat indulgent food can change the populations of bacteria residing inside the gut and alter the signalling to the brain, so it no longer senses signals for fullness.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia, Washington State University and Binghamton University, who found that food high in fat can induce inflammation in the brain regions responsible for feeding behaviour. This in turn may alter satiety signalling.

The research also found that fatty foods can change the populations of bacteria inside the gut. Which they believe can cause inflammation that damages the nerve cells that carry signals from the gut to the brain, resulting in gut-brain miscommunication.

The researchers believe that the results from this study provide a new insight into how balance in the intestinal microbiota and gut-brain communication might be disturbed by the introduction of modified foods high in fat and sugar.