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Drop that burger right when you are full! A new research gives insight on how overeating could cause a malfunction in brain insulin, leading to obesity and diabetes.

The research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine was carried out by Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone Disease) and his team.

Throughout the course of their study, researchers found that overeating affects the ability of brain insulin in such a way that it fails to suppress the breakdown of fat in adipose tissue.

In their previous studies, Dr. Buettner's team had established that brain insulin is what suppresses lipolysis, a process during which triglycerides in fat tissue are broken down and fatty acids are released, Medical Xpress reported.

Unrestrained lipolysis raises the levels of fatty acid which can lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes.

"We are interested in understanding why people who eat too much eventually develop diabetes. Our recent studies suggest that once you overeat, your brain develops insulin resistance. Since brain insulin controls lipolysis in adipose tissue by reducing sympathetic nervous system outflow to adipose tissue, brain insulin resistance causes increased spillage of fatty acids from adipose tissue into the blood stream," said Dr. Buettner.

Dr Buettner further explained that increased levels of fatty acids induce inflammation which, in turn, could worsen insulin resistance, the core defect in type 2 diabetes.

"It's a vicious cycle and while we knew that this can begin with overeating, this study shows that it is really the brain that is harmed first which then starts the downward spiral."

For the current study, the researchers fed a high-fat diet comprised of 10 percent lard (50 percent more calorie intake) for three consecutive days to rats. Another group of rats, the control group, was given regular low fat diet.

Later, the researchers infused a small amount of insulin into the brains of both groups of rats and found that the brain insulin of the rats that overate could not suppress glucose release from the liver and lipolysis in fat tissue.

Similarly, short-term overeating in humans is known to produce comparable insulin resistance which could be explained by brain insulin resistance