Nerves in Stomach Control Eating Habits

Nerves in the stomach control food intake, a new study has found.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Adelaide who found that gastric nerves act as circadian clocks and relay information about food intake to the brain.

"What we've found is that the nerves in the gut are at their least sensitive at time periods associated with being awake. This means more food can be consumed before we feel full at times of high activity, when more energy is required," Dr Stephen Kentish from the University's Nerve-Gut Research Laboratory and one of the study authors.

"However, with a change in the day-night cycle to a period associated with sleeping, the nerves in the stomach become more sensitive to stretch, signaling fullness to the brain quicker and thus limiting food intake. This variation repeats every 24 hours in a circadian manner, with the nerves acting as a clock to coordinate food intake with energy requirements," he said in a press release.

Researchers used 8-week-old female mice and studied how their gene expression varied over a 24-hour period. The team also recorded changes in mechanoreceptors of nerves that respond to the tummy stretching.

They found that a circadian clock, and not food intake, controlled the response of these receptors, Medical Daily reported.

The effects of these receptors were only studied on mice. According to researchers, a similar mechanism might exist in humans.

Previous research has shown that people who work in rotational shifts or have disturbed sleeping patterns tend to be put on weight. Shorter duration of sleep makes people eat more, especially food that is high in fat. When people do not get enough exercise to use this extra food, they tend to store it in their bodies, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The present study could help explain how changes in one's biological clock could affect eating habits, researchers said.

The study is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.