Childhood Diet Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Brain
Neuroscience News • • health
Key Points:
- New research from UCC reveals that early childhood consumption of high-fat, high-sugar diets causes lasting disruptions in the hypothalamus, leading to persistent unhealthy eating behaviors even after weight normalization.
- These brain changes create a hidden risk for future obesity, as unhealthy feeding patterns established in childhood can continue into adulthood despite dietary improvements.
- The study found that interventions targeting gut microbiota, specifically the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum APC1472 and prebiotic fibers (FOS and GOS), can restore healthy brain-gut signaling and mitigate the long-term effects of early poor diets.
- Results highlight the critical importance of early-life diet on lifelong brain health and suggest that supporting the gut microbiome from birth offers a promising therapeutic avenue to
