People More Drawn to Sugar Than Fat
Scientists working for the National Institutes of Heath have cracked the mystery of what it is that draws people to sugary, fatty foods.
Scientists working for the National Institute of Heath have cracked the mystery of what it is that draws people to sugary, fatty foods.
While the fat, no doubt, contributes to the texture and taste of many of the world’s more craveable sweets, it’s the sugar that keeps the brain on the lookout for more.
In the testing portion of the study, 106 lucky participants were fed several variations of chocolate milkshakes.
Some were higher in sugar and others in fat, but all were equal in calories.
Analysis of the consumers’ neural activity showed that time after time, the shakes higher in sugar sparked more movement in the brain’s reward network.
The fat did elicit responses in the brain’s pleasure-detecting areas, but the sugar had a greater impact on the reward sensors that send the messages to go get more.
Unfortunately, these sensors also control our eating habits – the more active they are the more we are prone to excessive and compulsive eating.
Said the study's lead author, “…what is really clear not only from this study but from the broader literature over all is that the more sugar you eat, the more you want to consume it."
Scientists working for the National Institute of Heath have cracked the mystery of what it is that draws people to sugary, fatty foods.
While the fat, no doubt, contributes to the texture and taste of many of the world’s more craveable sweets, it’s the sugar that keeps the brain on the lookout for more.
In the testing portion of the study, 106 lucky participants were fed several variations of chocolate milkshakes.
Some were higher in sugar and others in fat, but all were equal in calories.
Analysis of the consumers’ neural activity showed that time after time, the shakes higher in sugar sparked more movement in the brain’s reward network.
The fat did elicit responses in the brain’s pleasure-detecting areas, but the sugar had a greater impact on the reward sensors that send the messages to go get more.
Unfortunately, these sensors also control our eating habits – the more active they are the more we are prone to excessive and compulsive eating.
Said the study's lead author, “…what is really clear not only from this study but from the broader literature over all is that the more sugar you eat, the more you want to consume it."