Food pictures increase the desire for food

 

Food pictures increase the desire for food

 Just glancing at a picture of a rich, sticky chocolate cake can spark circuits in your brain and whet your appetite, a new study has shown.

 The proof is in the brain scan.  Research has found that when people watch foods, areas of the brain related to reward, pleasure, and appetite light up, according to the study presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.

 This study parallels with a previous study conducted on drug addicts and cocaine addicts in particular, where warning images were shown against drug abuse and a large x sign was placed to warn about it.  In all the pictures.

 "We see the similarities between cocaine's effect on the brain and foods that are very palatable," added Dr. Kathleen Page, a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California.  "The same areas of the brain light up," he added.

 Dr. Page and his colleagues surveyed 13 obese Hispanic women who saw tempting images of foods such as cake, chocolate and cookies.

 "What we saw is that the areas of the brain that are involved in reward and hunger lit up," he said.

 He stated that the women, who were also asked to rate their appetite at the beginning and end of the experiment, increased their hunger and desire for food after looking at the pictures.

 In a second and interesting experiment, the researchers repeated the experiment, but with soft drinks before showing the pictures, and the result was equal.

 Paige said.  "We did not expect increased hunger with the sugar drink. It seemed to have an appetizing effect on the brain."

 "It's funny, but when I did the study and looked at the pictures myself, I was thinking, 'I can eat a piece of chocolate cake right now.'"

 Dr. Page spoke of the behavioral applications of this research, saying ("There have been behavioral studies showing that the more children see these advertisements for foods, the more of them they eat").