A new study speaks about a rather unusual factor that has now entered into the fight against obesity; the tongue of the common fruit fly.
What, one may well ask, does the fruit fly’s tongue have to do with fighting obesity?
Well researchers have now examined the taste organs on the tongue of the fruit fly, which is what is responsible for triggering the wee creature’s hunger or desire to eat or not to eat.
The creature was also observed as having an internal clock much like humans, which dictated the way in which it eats. Time of day and other triggers also apply to eating behaviors displayed by humans and so this study of the fruit fly could well be significant in finding parallels in human behavior.
The researchers found that when we think it is ‘time to eat’ it is actually connected to the taste sensing cells which makes us want to eat. The flies are always looking for something to eat, but it is this internal clock that determines how much they eat.
In the absence of these clocks they would end up actually eating a lot more because the desire to eat is less at certain times of the day which is what controls intake. Since, we humans also have internal clocks this study could well prove significant.
Source: sciencedaily
