Mobile Phone Radiation Deflects Brain Energy Homeostasis and Prompts Human Food Ingestion

Abstract

Obesity and mobile phone usage have simultaneously spread worldwide. Radio frequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by mobile phones are largely absorbed by the head of the user, influence cerebral glucose metabolism, and modulate neuronal excitability. Body weight adjustment, in turn, is one of the main brain functions as food intake behavior and appetite perception underlie hypothalamic regulation. Against this background, we questioned if mobile phone radiation and food intake may be related. In a single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized crossover comparison, 15 normal-weight young men (23.47 ± 0.68 years) were exposed to 25 min of RF-EMFs emitted by two different mobile phone types vs. sham radiation under fasting conditions. Spontaneous food intake was assessed by an ad libitum standard buffet test and cerebral energy homeostasis was monitored by 31phosphorus-magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements. Exposure to both mobile phones strikingly increased overall caloric intake by 22–27% compared with the sham condition. Differential analyses of macronutrient ingestion revealed that higher calorie consumption was mainly due to enhanced carbohydrate intake. Measurements of the cerebral energy content, i.e., adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine ratios to inorganic phosphate, displayed an increase upon mobile phone radiation. Our results identify RF-EMFs as a potential contributing factor to overeating, which underlies the obesity epidemic. Beyond that, the observed RF-EMFs-induced alterations of the brain energy homeostasis may put our data into a broader context because a balanced brain energy homeostasis is of fundamental importance for all brain functions. Potential disturbances by electromagnetic fields may therefore exert some generalized neurobiological effects, which are not yet foreseeable.

Microwave radiation induces neuronal autophagy through miR-30a-5p/AMPKα2 signal pathway

“…Among that, the role of Beclin1 in miR-30a-regulated autophagy has been widely studied [ 33–36 ]. In our research and from other scholars, microwave radiation can induce abnormal energy metabolism in neurons [ 20 , 21 , 37 , 38 ]. Studies have confirmed that microwave under certain conditions can promote the occurrence of autophagy, but the underlying mechanisms have yet to be clarified [ 12 , 39–42 ].…”

“…Through bioinformatics analysis, we predicted the target genes of miR-30a that might be involved in autophagy regulation, including Beclin1, Prkaa2, Irs1, Pik3r2, Rras2, Ddit4, Gabarapl2 and Atg12. Studies have demonstrated that microwave radiation leads to abnormal energy metabolism in neurons [ 20 , 21 , 37 , 38 ]. In the present study, we showed that microwave radiation activated AMPK signal, a cellular energy sensor, both in rat hippocampi and neuron-like cells.…”

Mobile Tower Radiation and Its Impact on Human Body

“…Determining the extent of the health risk posed by RF radiation is still necessary. Numerous research examine the effects of mobile phones [3,4].…”

Reply to Witthöft et al. Comment on “Wardzinski et al. Mobile Phone Radiation Deflects Brain Energy Homeostasis and Prompts Human Food Ingestion. Nutrients 2022, 14, 339”

“…We are somewhat surprised about the extent of the feedback that we received upon our publication [ 1 ], in terms of the not entirely new connection between mobile phone radiation, brain activity, and food intake, being previously explored by EEG, association studies, and animal experiments (as outlined in the introduction of our paper). Ten years ago, scientists found “alarming” evidence of a long-term association between mobile phone radiation and obesity in humans [ 2 ].…”