The phenomenon of eating for pleasure rather than hunger is known as hedonic hyperphagia. Hedonic meaning of-, or related to pleasure; hyper- meaning excess; phagia in relation to eating. Tobias Hoch, Ph.D., leader of the study, explored possible causes of hedonic hyperphagia - a condition that affects hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Comparing groups of rats that ate either potato chips, a mixture of fats and carbs (similar composition to potato chips), or standard animal chow, they observed the following differences:
MORE POSITIVE REACTION. Even though we tend to be more attracted to high ratios of fat and carbs in our diet, the rats' brain activity showed more positive reaction to potato chips than the mixture of fats and carbs. This suggests there might be something special about chips, beyond its fat and carb content.
MORE ACTIVELY PURSUED CHIPS. Aside from feeding on standard animal chow, these rats were given 1 of 3 options: powdered standard animal chow, fats & carbs mixture, and potato chips. Although rats ate similar amounts of each option, they were much more active in pursuing the chips. Kind of like how we reach for chips much faster than celery sticks.
MORE REWARD & ADDICTION BRAIN ACTIVITY. Rats-on-chips showed the most brain activity in areas associated with reward and addiction, compared to rats fed on standard animal chow or the fats & carbs mixture.
Of course, not everyone has the same degree of craving for chips. The degree to which certain snacks activate our reward centres may only partly explain our preference for them - other factors may include our taste preference, and most importantly: willpower.
Source:
- American Chemical Society (ACS). (2013). Revealing the scientific secrets of why people can't stop after eating one potato chip. Retrieved from http://portal.acs.org/portal/acs/corg/content?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=PP_ARTICLEMAIN&node_id=222&content_id=CNBP_032592&use_sec=true&sec_url_var=region1&__uuid=fc1207e3-7004-4d74-a8ce-26706c658fca
