HHS HealthBeat (August 30, 2012)

Calories on the brain

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Minding your calories may have another meaning. Researchers who looked at brain imaging say just seeing pictures of high-calorie foods activated the brain’s appetite control areas. The 13 obese Hispanic young women in the small study also reported feeling more hungry after seeing the pictures.

Of course, food ads are pretty much everywhere. So what can we do to keep our brains on the diet plan? At the University of Southern California, researcher Kathleen Page:

“If we surround ourselves with healthier foods, we can limit ourselves from running to the kitchen to find another cookie or bag of potato chips every time we see an enticing food item.”

The study presented at a meeting of the Endocrine Society was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August 29, 2012