You risk gaining weight if you look at these photos, new Italian study: Here’s what they find

Looking at certain pictures that depict a particular food in particular can lead to weight gain. And here are the reasons.

It is known that the human senses are the tools with which we collect the stimuli that come to us from the outside world and then we process them and link them together. You smell and know if the food is good to eat, if it is spoiled, or if the oven-baked pizza is burnt.

In the same way, when looking at a rotten apple, we immediately understand that its place is in the moisture group and not in the basket with the other fruit. But have you ever wondered why looking at certain images triggers an uncontrollable urge within you? Science tells us why? A university team from Milan-Bicocca made an interesting discovery.

This is why when you look at food, you feel like eating it

Speaking of food, the results of an Italian study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Milano Bicocca regarding Obesity and associated brain mechanisms They were very clear. When seeing certain images, the brain reacts in a certain way.

We know that the brain reacts to visual stimuli and whether this is the case pictures from delicacies Excites the desire to eat. The study proves just that. People who look to seemingly succulent foodswhich contain a lot of fat or sugar, They tend to eat more They indulge in brain-stimulated food cravings.

How are food images related to obesity?

But how does this mechanism that connects images, Food cravings and obesity? The researcher explains it Frankantonio Devoto Team leader in coordination with prof Eraldo Poliso From the Department of Psychology at the University of Bicocca in Milan who are working on new strategies to combat obesity by working on modulating the brain.

Basically, in obese people A very strong reaction is triggered within the brain when they look at food Particularly appetizing, which causes an irrepressible desire to eat it right away.

The focus of the research was the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a region of the brain closely related to motivational processes in each individual and that in obese people has more connections with the fusiform gyrus that are stimulated by images of food. Whereas it has fewer connections with the left inferior frontal gyrus which has inhibitory functions instead.

It is for this reason that obese people cannot stop themselves. Clearly, this important discovery opens up new possibilities in treating obese patients with non-invasive brain neuromodulation techniques.