Our weight can tell us how we value food!

It is very important for us to stay up to date with new research that emerges. Especially about the relationship that food has for us. We believe it is very important to share this information with our experts. So that it reaches your patients and they can find the best way to take care of their diet.

And today’s article is a good example.

People with a more controlled weight tend to associate natural foods (such as fruit) with their sensory characteristics. While processed foods (like pizza) are more associated with their function and context in which we eat them. This is what the results of a research carried out by the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste show. This reveals that the way we process different foods changes according to our body mass index. With two behavioral and electroencephalographic experiments. The study showed that food associations can be determined by their sensory characteristics such as sweetness or softness. And, on the other hand, processed foods like pizzas are generally associated with their function or the context in which they are eaten. Like parties or picnics. “The results are in line with the theory according to which the sensory characteristics and functions of elements are processed differently by the brain… They represent an important step in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying how we evaluate our foods and why we eat them.” Commented Giulio Pergola, lead author of the research. Research recently published in the journal Biological Psychology also highlighted the ways in which underweight people pay greater attention to natural foods. And overweight people to processed foods. Even subjected to the same stimuli, these two groups show different electroencephalography signals. These results demonstrate once again the importance of cognitive neuroscience. Also in the understanding of clinical fields such as dietary disorders. We can inform our patients that while their cravings may be normal, many are due to lifestyle conditioning. Especially the unhealthy ones. Which is literally believed to create a behavioral circuit that has to be addressed. If you want to read the original research:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301051117302302