Fast food chains have tapped into the inner-workings of our brains to make us crave unhealthy foods, even when we’re not hungry.
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki’s report on a study revealed in Psychology Today looks at why people crave certain foods and how they are as addictive as drugs.
The study, titled “Seven things McDonald’s knows about your brain,” found that even basic sugar can be addictive, and considering most everything on the menu at the fast food giant contains sugar, this is a big problem.
Kruszelnicki explains that while all people are different, addictions grab hold when the speed of delivery is increased, like the 20 seconds it takes nicotine to reach your brain after a drag on a cigarette or the even quicker hit from drugs like cocaine and heroin.
With fast food, the speed is on the delivery; between the desire for the ‘hit’ and the first bite into the burger laden with salt, sugar and fat that ordinarily would have taken you triple the amount of time to cook at home, giving a chance for the craving to pass and the lessening the chance of over-indulging.