Can Thinking Too Much Make You Fat?

Do you think too much? Can thinking too much make your fat? That is conclusion of researchers at a university in Quebec, Canada. They conducted a study using college students as volunteer subjects. The objective of their study was to determine why it appears that white collar workers have more excess weight than blue collar workers. The results are surprising!

The researchers divided the volunteer subjects into three groups. The students in the first group were given mental tasks that required deep thought. The second group of subjects were given mental tasks that required some thought, but not as much as the first group. Finally, the members of the third group were given no tasks at all, either mental or physical.

Upon completion of the tasks, all members of the three groups were offered snacks. The group that was given nothing to do, only nibbled on the snacks. The second group, the one that were given tasks that required some thought, consumed on average about 200 more calories than the first group. The group whose tasks required deep cognitive thought, ate the snacks like they were going out of style. They ended up eating significantly more than the other two groups.

After analyzing the results the researches discovered that when the brain is working extremely hard, stress hormones cause the blood glucose levels to fluctuate wildly. This caused feelings of hunger, even though it only consumed 3 more calories than when the mind was in a resting state.

The researchers drew the conclusion that consuming vast amounts of calories after deep cognitive thought, combined with physical inactivity, were significant factors in obesity levels. Furthermore, they reasoned that this discovery applied not only to our society, but to obesity levels in all the industrialized nations around the world.

Obesity is a major health concern for those who work in non-physical, highly stressful occupations. Obesity is also a serious issue for our children. It you are concerned about your family's health, find a weight loss plan that works for you and your family