High-fat diets can lead to hair loss, a study has claimed.
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Experts at Tokyo Medical and Dental University conducted experiments on mice to examine how fatty foods and obesity can affect hair loss and thinning.
The scientists discovered that obesity can lead to the depletion of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs), which normally self-renew and allow locks to grow.
HFSCs stop replenishing themselves as people get older, a process that is quickened by people eating high-fat diets.
Hironobu Morinaga, the lead author of the study, said: "High-fat diet feeding accelerates hair thinning by depleting HFSCs that replenish mature cells that grow hair, especially in old mice.
"We compared the gene expression in HFSCs between HFD-fed (high-fat diet) mice and standard diet-fed mice and traced the fate of those HFSCs after their activation. We found that HFD-fed mice show faster hair loss and smaller hair follicles along with depletion of HFSCs."