The ‘happy hormone’ might be the reason behind your weight gain

Different glands in our body produce chemicals and hormones that travel through the bloodstream to play their role towards various bodily processes. One such hormone is the dopamine or ‘happy hormone’.

Dopamine helps promote positive feelings, including happiness and pleasure. But if the findings of a latest study, published in the journal Current Biology, are to be believed, brain’s pleasure sector has an integrated connection with the human biological clock.

Thus, the high-calorie foods that make you happy and content can disturb your regular schedule. As a result, overweight and obesity are a compulsion.

Apart from this, you can be prone to diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension and even cancer due to ill-eating habits.

According to the study, the eating pattern in the United States has worsened in the past 50 years.

“With highly processed foods readily and cheaply available at any time of the day or night,” Ali Guler, a professor of biology at the University of Virginia, said.

“Many of these foods are high in sugars, carbohydrates, and calories, which makes for an unhealthy diet when consumed regularly over many years.”

The researchers of the study reveal that the portion of our brain that excretes dopamine and the other part determining the human clock are synced.

“We’ve shown that dopamine signalling in the brain governs circadian biology and leads to consumption of energy-dense foods between meals and during odd hours,” said Guler.

Also read: A cup of cinnamon water a day can keep the weight gain away. Here’s how you can brew it