When you think of pizza do you also end up smelling the cheese, anchovies, garlic and other herbs and spices baking on top of a nice think crisp crust? When somebody suggests an Indian dish you find yourself salivating as you imagine the smell of curry and other spices? Or can you smell the sugar glaze on the donut in your mind? Do find yourself easily craving for food the minute your brain suggests, it even when you are not hungry? You better start getting hold of yourself because according to science, you have very high chance of becoming obese when you have a heightened imagination for smell or aroma of food.
A recent study has showed that overweight people can easily envision very intense images of aroma. Consequently the person ends up following strong food urges even when he is not hungry causing the person to constantly consume much more calories. Yale researchers have presented in the annual meeting of the Society for Ingestive Behavior, their study that aimed to explain when people decide to eat or not to eat. In such study, Yale's John B. Pierce Laboratory had participants answering a questionnaire that measured their ability to imagine visual and odor cues. The results of such study concluded that individuals with higher body mass index are able to more vividly imagine food odors associated with the food compared to those with normal weight.
While previous studies have already recognized the fact that obese individuals experience more food cravings the recent study stated above has yet to be further tested. The above findings may only be one of the factors leading to overeating. Nevertheless it does make sense that the ability to clearly see and "smell" the food mentally can urge the person to eat even when the body does not need the food yet.
