Researchers say they know why you can't resist treats even when you're full
Researchers from the UK say they have discovered why you're still tempted by ice-cream or chocolate even when you're full.
The team says it could explain why so many of us struggle to maintain a healthy weight with willpower alone.
It seems we're all hedonists because no matter how satiated the stomach is, the brain still associates delicious food with pleasure.
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Hungry? You'd probably grab one - or two - anyway. Getty Images via CNN Newsource
"We studied people's brainwaves after eating and found that even though their stomachs might be satisfied, their brains didn't seem to care," lead researcher Dr Thomas Sambrook from the University of East Anglia said.
"No amount of fullness could switch off the brain's response to delicious-looking food."
He says the research shows there is far more to the obesity crisis than a lack of self-control, given we live in environments rich with food and food advertising that our brains have learned to associate with pleasure and which overpower our natural appetite cues.
In the study, 76 people were fed calorie-rich snack foods like lollies, chocolates and chips and at one point were told to eat until they didn't want another bite.
Researchers said despite them being truly full, their brain activity in the part of the brain associated with reward kept lighting up.
"What we saw is that the brain simply refuses to downgrade how rewarding a food looks, no matter how full you are," Sambrook said.
"Even when people know they don't want the food, even when their behaviour shows they've stopped valuing the food – their brains continue to fire 'reward!' signals the moment the food appears.
"It's a recipe for overeating."
The research, in collaboration with the University of Plymouth, was published in the journal Appetite.
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