Researchers from the University of Turku studied changes in the brain of 41 young men with a varying number of obesity risk factors. They explored the insulin, opioid, and cannabinoid function on PET imaging.

The results, published on 2 November in an open-access article in the International Journal of Obesity, showed that family-related risk factors such as parents' obesity or diabetes were associated with altered insulin signaling in the subject's brain, as well as reduced function of the opioid and cannabinoid systems.

These results may have implications for the development of prevention and treatment interventions for obesity, the authors wrote.