Why does junk food taste so damn good?

When you're trying to be good, eat clean and steer clear of stuffing your face with shite, the siren call of the takeaway always beckons. It's just so hard to resist. With the strongest will in the world there's nothing more satisfying than tucking into a massive pizza and a tub of ice cream after a hard week at work. We'll freely admit it. We're weak. Science has shown us that stress is a big cause of over-eating and so-called 'comfort eating' to make us feel better. Chronic stress causes the body to release more cortisol - and when stress hormone levels are constantly elevated it leads to an increase in appetite. The worst thing about it is that it affects our food preferences and according to Harvard scientists it makes us reach for foods that are high in sugar and fat. Stress also makes you want to exercise less, drink more and affects the amount of sleep you get which all feeds into this sorry process of binge eating and weight gain, the US university say. But now researchers at the University of Alabama have found one of the things that will help break this cycle of stress and craving junk food. It turns out that exercise is key to counteracting the triggers from stress that make us want to ditch the salads and fill our bellies with junk. “Exercise has the ability to increase available fuel sources in the body that may signal to the brain: ‘Here is the energy source I need, I don’t need to replenish it through food,'" the study’s lead author William H. Neumeier told TIME. The researchers did a study on 38 college students who were split into two groups. The first group were given a graduate-level entrance exam to do before spending 15 minutes resting. The second group did the same test but instead of resting they performed 15 minutes of high intensity interval training on a treadmill. After this 15 minute period both groups were given pizza and told they could eat to their heart's content. What they found was the group that rested after the exam consumed on average 100 calories more than the exercise group. The researchers believe that this rigorous physical activity curbs appetite due to its effects on the hormone that regulates hunger - ghrelin. “Perhaps it’s the distraction that buffers the desire for food,” Neumeier suggested. “I think this will be highly applicable to a number of individuals who perform sedentary tasks that are mentally demanding but not physically demanding.” Exercise then not only seems to be a very effective way of managing stress, but also stopping you overeating or craving junk. So next time you have an absolute nightmare of a day at work, try doing a quick and intense bout of exercise immediately after you clock off and still see if you find yourself dialling that takeaway number.