365 Ways #339–Of mice and men

#339–Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have found that mice put on diets are more susceptible to stress. Blood cortisol levels in the weight watching rodents were higher than a control group of mice when exposed to stressful noises. And even after returning to their normal caloric intake, the former dieters were more likely to soothe themselves with food when presented with new, mild stressors. Researchers involved in the study speculate that calorie restriction “may actually ‘reprogram’ how the brain responds to future stress and emotional drives for food.” And while this may explain why people typically regain all of the weight loss and more when returning to their normal eating habits, I have a different conclusion: Diet is a noun, not a verb.