MUN study could explain why we overeat

A research team at Memorial University has made a discovery that could explain why overeating sometimes makes you want to eat more.

In the study, 72 young men were given 70 per cent more calories than they normally require in a week.

The most notable result that researchers found is that ghrelin — a hormone which is thought to increase appetite— actually increases after the overfeeding period.

According to Danny Wadden, a graduate student in biomedical science in the Faculty of Medicine, the origins of the hunger mystery could date back to some very distant relatives.

"Our ancestors were hunters and gatherers and didn't have access to all this high caloric food that we have today," explained Wadden.

"When they found some food, they didn't know how long they were going to have until their next amount of food. So they would binge on it and eat more and more."

Wadden said this could explain why our appetites at times seem insatiable.

"Maybe there was some kind of mechanism here similar to what we're seeing now during the holidays," he said with a chuckle.

Wadden said the study is of particular importance to Newfoundland and Labrador as the province has one of the highest obesity rates in Canada.