Treats are hard to ignore in the supermarket because our brains can learn to love them.
Researchers]found that foods high in fat and sugar can change our brain.
Let's find out more about why it happens.
An experiment on brains and snacks
If we consume even small amounts of snacks regularly, our brain gets used to them.
But why do we like unhealthy foods so much? The scientists believe that our brain learns this preference over time.
They gave one group of people a sugary, fatty pudding every day for eight weeks, while another group got a similar pudding with fewer fats.
They measured the brain activity of these volunteers before and during the study.
After eight weeks, the group that ate the high-fat, high-sugar pudding showed a stronger brain response to such foods.
This affects the part of the brain that deals with motivation and rewards.
Conclusion
Essentially, our brains get wired to prefer these tasty but unhealthy foods without us even realizing it.
Even though the participants didn't gain more weight during the experiment, the scientists believe the preference for sugary foods might stick around.
That's because the brain creates new connections that don't disappear quickly. Learning something means we remember it for a while.
So, it's not easy to forget our love for sweet and fatty foods once our brains have learned to crave them.
