System that tells the brain you're full stops working when it gets used to a fatty diet.

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If you lose weight, only to quickly pile it back on, blame your nerves.
Research suggests that nerves in the stomach mean that many a diet is destined to failure.
These nerves tell the brain that the stomach is full. But, when they get used to junk food, they stop working properly.
As a result, someone would need to eat more to feel satisfied.
Crucially, the problem remains even after a switch to healthy fare is made.
The Australian researchers say this could explain why the bulk of dieters put back on the weight they have lost.
The research team, from the University of Adelaide, focused on the gastric nerves that tell the brain when the stomach has filled after a meal.
They showed that the nerves were less responsive in mice fed fatty food.
Crucially, they still worked less well than normal weeks after the creatures had been switched to a healthy diet.
Study leader Amanda Page said: ‘The stomach’s nerve response does not return to normal upon return to a normal diet.
‘This means you would need to eat more food before you get the same degree of fullness as a healthy individual.’
The problem was exacerbated by leptin, the so-called hunger hormone.
Normally, it helps stop us from eating too much. But, faced with lots of fatty food, it acts on the stomach nerves, making it even harder for the fullness signal to reach the brain.
The effects were clear in the mice.
Animals switched from junk food to a healthy diet lost a bit of weight to begin with but quickly put it back on and more.
In other words, the stomach nerves underperformed, even after the change in diet.
Despite the experiments being on mice, Dr Page said they have ‘very strong implications for the obese, those trying to lose weight and those who are trying to maintain their weight loss.’

The problem remains even after a dieter has switched to healthy food. Scientists believe this could be why so many diets ultimately fail

Writing in the International Journal of Obesity, she said: ‘More research is needed to determine how long the effects last and whether there is any way – chemical or otherwise – to trick the stomach into resetting itself to normal.’
British experts, however, urged dieters not to despair.
Professor Jason Halford, chairman of the UK Association for the Study of Obesity, urged would-be slimmers to adopt a diet and exercise plan that slots into their daily routine without being too restrictive.
He said: ‘Long term changes in behaviour are the key to lasting success.’
Others say that in order to stay at their new weight, slimmers need to eat less than someone of the same weight who has not dieted.
To be precise, they need to eat at least 300 fewer calories a day – the equivalent of a bag of Maltesers and a Milky Way.
Over the course of a week, it amounts to 15 cans of cola or 17 slices of buttered toast.

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