European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 15, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                What causes some people to choose chocolate doughnuts Over fresh fruit for snack a researcher maybe close to finding out not blame your brain for fat food cravings Sybil Hendrick cpx news service t s late at night you crawl into bed with a favorite Book. But instead of focusing on the words your mind wanders to the pantry thinking of doritos and Picante sauce. Or ice Cream and gooey chocolate syrup. Or maybe a Little corned beef on Rye. Are you a weak person is there any Hope the answers Rockefeller University psychologists now believe May be no and yes i a study presented earlier this year at the annual meeting of the american psychological association in los Angeles suggests that Midnight slackers and Over eaters May have a specific molecule in the brain that stimulates their appetite for fat and yes said Lead researcher or. Sarah Leibowitz scientists Are indeed focusing their attention on developing a drug which May vary or. Block the molecules that cause such fat cravings. Leibowitz said researchers have identified a specific Neur chemical Catechol mine dopamine that appears to be involved in turning off fat food cravings. Don t look for this drug on die shelves soon she advised. But someday perhaps by the end of the decade it might become widely available. Leibowitz said researchers injected a chemical called galanin into the brains of rats and that it caused them to overeat when the researchers repeatedly administered a similar chemical Over several Days chronic overeating resulted leading to big gains in body weight. The study led researchers to concentrate on the role that galanin and other brain chemicals play in appetite Behaviours and How to control them. The clinical implications of these prozac and eating disorders by the associated press prozac praised As a wonder drug to treat depression and reviled by critics who say it causes violent and suicidal urges is about to get approval for another High profile affliction bulimia. Eli Lilly & co. Said that the food and drug administration has issued what s known As an a provable letter in support of using the drug for treating the eating disorder. That is generally the final step before the Fra Grants approval for a new drug or for a new use of an existing product according to a spokeswoman for the company which introduced prozac in 1987. Bulimia which afflicts about 1 million americans a year mostly Young women is a mental disorder in which the victims believe they Are constantly overweight victims purge themselves by inducing vomiting sometimes dozens of times per Day which can cause sometimes fatal health problems. Bulimics often have related conditions including depression and obsessive compulsive disorders. Prozac is designed to treat those by allowing the body to produce and keep adequate Levels of a substance called serotonin which regulates moods. Findings might make it possible to identify those at risk for eating disorders and to. Help reduce weight related health problems Leibowitz said. Leibowitz wants to understand the signals that control appetite for fat then determine How disturbances in those signals May produce abnormal appetite for fat Rich foods. She Hopes that individuals at risk for developing eating disorders can be identified and educated Early in life. That could prove especially beneficial for adolescent girls who Are prone to eating disorders during puberty when there is an increase in fat intake and its storage by the  an Effort to understand the causes of cravings for specific foods Leibowitz is investigating various physiological processes that activate brain chemicals and shape eating behaviour. Her research has identified biological signals that affect the synthesis of these brain chemicals. Certain brain cells appear to be Able to translate their need for a specific nutrient into a specific appetite for foods that Are Rich in this nutrient she said. That might explain the cravings that people experience. Leibowitz cautioned that development of a drug to alter appetite for fat Rich foods won t cure eating disorders. But studies of chemicals arid hormones that stimulate food intake Are providing important dues for developing drugs that May help in appetite control she said. These findings in animals and humans Are now generating considerable excitement and Hope she said noting that the research May help shape intervention strategies that balance nutritional behavioural psychological and medical approaches. Short subject to lose weight take a step backward by Hanoi Epstein Manchester guardian service if peddling a stationary Bike or climbing evolving stairs does not trim the fat you May want to reverse things a bit. A researcher says walking or running backward bums More calories than going Forward. He Calls it Retro running. We re not designed to go As efficiently i reverse so you re making the body work harder says Timothy Flynn physical therapist at William Beaumont army medical Center in Elpaso Texas. Ten healthy texans volunteered for Rit study going in both directions on a Treadmill while muzzled with an oxygen mask an hooked to a heart Monitor. The head gear trapped exhaled air which was used to Analyse Energy consumption. Flynn also took blood samples. The study included four six minute  walked about 4 mph Forward then backward. They then did the same jogging this time at about 6 mph. The results Retro running came out ahead inapt counts. Oxygen consumption was 31 percent higher heart rate 15 percent faster and there was More lactic acid in the blood. The Bottom line is that it used More if you re having trouble dropping pounds try doing this in reverse pm genl which implies burning More calories said Flynn an avid Retro runner himself. Going backward has an added boost it strengthens the thigh Muscles quadriceps Lynn said. Professional athletes often reverse Tor rehabilitation. Or. Leonard Jaffe team physician to the new Jersey devils hockey team said the results make sense. When you Force the body to do a new activity he said to works harder and bums More fuel. However he has a Hunch that once your body gets accustomed to going in reverse the added benefits Wane. The trick he advised is to Retro Only every now and then. But remember novices should not try this alone on main Street. The benefits dissipate quickly if you collide with oncoming traffic. As Jaffe explained Retro running is going to affect your Overall proprioception the ability to perceive your position in  which Means that unless you Are very careful you Are Likely to fall on your Bottom crash into a tree or worse. Scripp Howard nows sen Rit \ tuesday november 15,1994 the stars and stripes 19