This should come as no surprise. The compound in this study is MSG (aka yeast extract, anything “hydrolyzed,” any “hydrolyzed protein,” calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, yeast food, yeast nutrient, autolyzed yeast, gelatin, textured protein, soy protein, soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, whey protein, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate). Everyone associates MSG with Chinese food, but it is also used in most fast food restaurants.
I continue to contend that artifical sweeteners as well as compounds like MSG trick the body into thinking that nutrients and calories are coming (via the G-cells in the small intestine and the subsequent release of GLP-1). When those nutrients and calories do not actually present themselves, the body looks around and says…”where’s the beef?” so to speak. This begins to disconnect appetitie and taste. A bad, bad, bad scenario. And we’re doing it to our kids, completely oblivious to the fact that Diet Pepsi is should NOT be given to a toddler.
This particular study find a 33% increased risk of obesity in the highest consumers. But again, this should come as no surprise. We cannot trick our bodies into tasting aspects of food but not paying the metabolic price. Period.