Although there are many surprising culprits behind obesity and weight gain, recent research may reveals some shocking information every overweight person should know about. This recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that junk food has a brain-altering effect which makes you eat it more of it. High-fat food processed food consumption causes damage to the hypothalmus part of your brain – an area responsible for levels of hunger, thirst, and the body’s natural rhythms and cycles.

The researchers not only found evidence that further supports processed foods and sugary drinks as being highly addictive, but also that once someone falls into the trap of consuming these foods and becomes obese, their bodies want to stay that way. As a natural fuel storage regulator, your body uses a process called energy homeostasis to keep weight normalized. But once obesity hits, that process is thrown off and your body wants to stay in that new state. This makes it very difficult for obese individuals to keep the weight off after successfully shedding the pounds. Needless to say, avoiding obesity altogether would definitely be the wise choice.

While the information helps you to realize why losing weight may have been difficult, this kind of research is vulnerable to being used as a free-pass excuse for those already overweight. Increasing obesity rates are not a result of unintentional weight gain and difficulty with losing weight but rather an unhealthy lifestyle being manifested for years. The average American diet is made up of chemically-laced fast food and a great deal of calories are obtained purely from soda or snack foods.